Was there a real duke who "put up his dukes?"

sequoianoir

The expression "Put up your dukes" comes from old Cockney rhyming slang: "Put up your forks. Put up your Duke of Yorks." (forks refer to fingers and hence your hands) However there is a line of thought that the phrase "put up your dukes" and "duke it out" refer to the name of the God of Boxing, Polydeuces Sep 30 03, 5:28 PM

Senior Moments

Following on from the last part of Dark Bark's reply: - the phrase "put up your dukes" and "duke it out" refer to the name of the God of Boxing, Polydeuces? The names of the brothers were Castor and Pollux Troy-- Pollux just another name for Polydeuces. According to myth, the twin brothers Castor and Polydeuces were among the greatest fighters of the day -- Castor was the greatest wrestler of ancient times and Pollux the greatest boxer, barring perhaps the rugged slugger Herakles. Castor and Polydeuces were along on Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece. At one stop, the Argonauts were challenged to a boxing match by King Amycus, who slew strangers that way. Polydeuces killed Amycus with one blow -- to the elbow! When Castor was killed, Polydeuces refused to accept immortality. Eventually, Zeus placed the twins in the heavens where they remain to this day as the constellation Gemini. So, Polydeuces is the first star of boxing! http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/boxmyth.html Sep 30 03, 5:34 PM

Hamlet.

The oldest son of King George III was the king of England. The second son was a jerk with a lofty title: duke of York. Frederick Augustus' military career ended in 1809 after he fought a scandalous duel with the Duke of Richmond. The Duke of York further scandalized English society by pursuing an interest in boxing, which, in the days before Marquis of Queensbury rules, was downright disreputable. York's fascination with boxing gained such notoriety that boxers nicknamed their fists "dukes of York", and by the end of the nineteenth century the phrase was shortened to "dukes". Sep 30 03, 7:02 PM

gmackematix

SM. I suspect there was a lot of Castor and Pollux in your answer. Sep 30 03, 8:06 PM

shady shaker

Yes, his name was Duke Atti. He was an Italian nobleman who got very upset when ever anybody laughed at his motor bike. Oct 02 03, 2:50 PM

sequoianoir

Not sure about Duke Atti, Shady, but there really was a Count Augusta who made motorcycles. Oct 02 03, 3:25 PM