knuckle sandwich

Etymology

The term describes a person’s fist connecting with another person’s mouth, as if the latter were eating a sandwich.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈnʌkəl ˈsæn(d)wɪdʒ/, /-wɪtʃ/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈnʌkəl ˈsænˌ(d)wɪtʃ/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: knuck‧le sand‧wich

Noun

knuckle sandwich (plural knuckle sandwiches)

1. (slang) A punch to the face, especially to the mouth.
   • 1957, Jerome Chodorov, Joseph [Albert] Fields, Anniversary Waltz: Comedy in Three Acts, rev. edition, New York, N.Y.: Dramatists Play Service, Inc., →OCLC, page 20:

     OKKIE. (Raises his fist, kissing the knuckles menacingly—follows her to bottom of steps.) How would you like a knuckle sandwich?

   • 2002 April 7, Ira Berkow, “Sports of the times: A Babe Ruth myth is stirred up again”, in The New York Times‎, archived from the original on 27 May 2015:

     Rather than an embrace, the Babe [Babe Ruth] would most assuredly like to have given a knuckle sandwich to the executives of that candy corps. Or hit them over the head with his 42-ounce bat.

   • 2002, Tony Young, Dalton Higgins, “Cleft Palate/Harelip”, in Much Master T: One VJ's Journey, Toronto, Ont.: ECW Press, →ISBN, page 30:

     My brother Basil was probably the most protective of me. He would be willing to wallop anyone with a knuckle sandwich (knuckle sandwiches, not knives or guns, were big back then) who messed with me.