pull punches

English

Alternative forms

• pull one's punches

Etymology

From boxing, 1920s.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Verb

pull punches (third-person singular simple present pulls punches, present participle pulling punches, simple past and past participle pulled punches)

1. (originally boxing) To avoid using a high level of force when punching.
   • 2017, Mark D Bishop, Zen Odyssey, An Okinawan Karate & Martial Arts Journey, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 228:

     Traditionally on Okinawa (if 'traditionally' is the right word to use), protectors had been worn during sparring practise because the trainees believed that, to be effective, one should not train to pull punches.

2. (figuratively, chiefly in the negative) To act with reserve; especially, to word something delicately to avoid giving offense or inciting anger.

   Synonym: hold back

   I did not pull any punches when I told them my thoughts.

   • 2005, Nick Morgan, Give Your Speech, Change the World: How To Move Your Audience to Action, Harvard Business Review Press, →ISBN, page 78:

     The key here is not to pull punches. Tell it to 'em straight. Don't point fingers. But don't avoid painful truths.

   • 2010, Kenneth J. Heineman, Catholic New Deal: Religion and Reform in Depression Pittsburgh, Penn State Press, →ISBN, page 75:

     Father Charles Owen Rice was not one to pull punches, particularly when it came to confronting what he viewed as hypocritical behavior among Catholics.

   • 2017 February 1, Neil Bartlett, “The End of Eddy by Édouard Louis review – a childhood in hell”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     This arresting autobiographical novel pulls no punches; rather, it lands them on the reader as frequently as fists descend on its subject.

   • 2021 February 10, Thomas L. Friedman, “Cyberspace Plus Trump Almost Killed Our Democracy. Can Europe Save Us?”, in The New York Times‎^[2], →ISSN:

     A few weeks ago, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, released an open letter that pulled no punches.

   • 2024 April 3, Philip Haigh, “Discord over Avanti West Coast is part of a wider problem”, in RAIL, number 1006, page 52:

     Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham pulled no punches in March 20's Transport for the North board meeting in Leeds. He wants rid of Avanti West Coast. And he may yet get his way, although ministers in London are holding the line at the moment.

Translations

to avoid using all one's strength when punching

• Finnish: olla lyömättä kovaa
• French: retenir ses coups (fr)
• Hungarian: kesztyűs kézzel bánik
• Polish: łagodzić uderzenie impf, złagodzić uderzenie pf

See also

• no holds barred

Further reading

• “pull (one’s) punches”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.