dukes


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duke

(do͞ok, dyo͞ok)
n.
1. A nobleman with the highest hereditary rank, especially a man of the highest grade of the peerage in Great Britain.
2. A sovereign prince who rules an independent duchy in some European countries.
3. Used as the title for such a nobleman.
4. dukes Slang The fists: Put up your dukes!
5. Botany A type of cherry intermediate between a sweet and a sour cherry.
intr.v. duked, duk·ing, dukes
To fight, especially with fists: duking it out.
[Middle English, from Old French duc, from Latin dux, duc-, leader, from dūcere, to lead; see deuk- in Indo-European roots. N., sense 4, short for Duke of Yorks, rhyming slang for forks, fingers.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

dukes

(djuːks)
pl n
slang the fists (esp in the phrase put your dukes up)
[C19: from Duke of Yorks rhyming slang for forks (fingers)]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
Translations

dukes

[djuːks] NPL → puños mpl
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

dukes

pl (dated sl, = fists) → Fäuste pl; put up your dukes → zeig mal deine Fäuste (inf)
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
References in classic literature ?
Such of his friends in whom he had been able to confide, had, in their character of wits, rallied him upon the duke's superiority.
The duke received his adversary as he would have done an intimate acquaintance, made room beside him on the same seat with himself, offered him refreshments, and spread over his knees the sable cloak that had been thrown on the front seat.
The boat was destined for the transport of the duke's equipages from the shore to the yacht.
The duke's attendants had received directions to have a boat in readiness at the jetty head, and to watch the embarkation of their master, without approaching him until either he or his friend should summon them, -- "whatever may happen," he had added, laying a stress upon these words, so that they might not be misunderstood.
But these considerations never occurred to the duke and every day the cardinal received fresh accounts of him which were as unpleasant as possible to the minister.
He drew portraits, with a piece of coal, of the cardinal; and as his talents did not enable him to produce a very good likeness, he wrote under the picture that there might be little doubt regarding the original: "Portrait of the Illustrious Coxcomb, Mazarin." Monsieur de Chavigny, the governor of Vincennes, waited upon the duke to request that he would amuse himself in some other way, or that at all events, if he drew likenesses, he would not put mottoes underneath them.
The duke thanked Monsieur de Chavigny for having, as he said, cleaned his drawing-paper for him; he then divided the walls of his room into compartments and dedicated each of these compartments to some incident in Mazarin's life.
The poor duke swore, fell into a rage, yelled, and declared that they wished to starve him to death as they had starved the Marechal Ornano and the Grand Prior of Vendome; but he refused to promise that he would not make any more drawings and remained without any fire in the room all the winter.
"If you can spare me five minutes," the Duke suggested.
The Duke of Devenham, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, whose wife entertained for his party, and whose immense income, derived mostly from her American relations, was always at its disposal, was a person almost as important in the councils of his country as the Prime Minister himself.
"That is not exactly the point, my dear," the Duke explained.
"Nothing at all," the Duke said, rising to his feet.

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