knuckle under

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English

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

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Verb

knuckle under (third-person singular simple present knuckles under, present participle knuckling under, simple past and past participle knuckled under)

  1. (intransitive, idiomatic) To yield or cooperate when pressured or forced to do so.
    • 1907, John Galsworthy, The Country House, ch. 8:
      "Nothing shall induce me!" he said. . . . "The man is a ruffian. I won't knuckle under to him!"

Synonyms

References