Pull no punches

Posted by Smokey Stover on January 18, 2006

In Reply to: Pull no punches posted by Carol on January 18, 2006

: What is the origen of the phrase "to pull no punches" or "don't pull any punches."

This is mentioned in the Archives, but I'll give it to you straight, without pulling any punches. This is a boxing term. When you pull a punch, you pull back or hold back, so that your punch doesn't land with all possible force. The transferred meaning of the phrase is similar. If you criticize, but politely and as painlessly as you can, watering your criticism down, you are pulling your punch or punches. But if you really blast someone, you're pulling no punches. SS