(Discover even more words in The Writer’s Body Lexicon.)

Time to Knuckle Down

Do you crack your knuckles while waiting for inspiration?

Maybe you massage them as you think.

Or perhaps you tap them against your chin.

This post presents a few words that will help you get creative with knuckles.

Emotion Beats and Physical Manifestations

Consider the following emotion beats, remembering that readers need context to intuit character motivation.

Aggression, hostility

cracking one’s knuckles

grinding another character’s knuckles when shaking hands

Anger

cracking one’s knuckles

*standing with white-knuckled hands behind one’s back.

*Watch POV. Only a person standing behind the character of focus would notice the white knuckles.

Anguish

wringing one’s hands so forcefully that knuckles whiten

biting on or picking at fingernails or cuticles, drawing attention to otherwise inconspicuous knuckles

Anxiety

pressing knuckles of one hand to lips

when anxiety is extreme, wringing one’s hands so hard that knuckles whiten

Desperation

wringing one’s hands so fiercely that knuckles whiten

white-knuckled grasp of clothing or a personal object

Fear

arms crossed, knuckles white

white-knuckled grip on an object such as a steering wheel

Germophobia

air fist-bumping due to fear of germs that might be acquired by shaking hands

Irritation

balling one’s hands into white-knuckled fists

repetitive hand movements that draw attention to otherwise inconspicuous knuckles

Nervousness

cracking one’s knuckles

self-hugging so tightly that knuckles whiten

Rage

leaning toward object of rage and cracking one’s knuckles

jabbing a finger in someone’s face, which draws attention to otherwise inconspicuous knuckles

Rapport

two characters fist-bumping, with solid knuckle contact

two characters high-fiving, which draws the gaze to otherwise inconspicuous knuckles

Stress

cracking one’s knuckles

gnawing or sucking on a knuckle

Uncertainty

cracking one’s knuckles while mulling over a problem

holding hands close to one’s face while talking, which draws attention to otherwise inconspicuous knuckles

Worry

gnawing on a knuckle

thumbs clenched inside white-knuckled fists

If you need additional beats, consult a body language dictionary. (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

Adjectives

Occupation, age, and financial status are just a few particulars that might be signaled by knuckle condition. As you scan this list, watch for opinion adjectives, and consider how they affect point of view.

A and B

ancient, angry, armored, arthritic, baby-smooth, baby-soft, bare, beefy, bloodthirsty, bloody, bony, brazen, bristly, brittle, broad, brutal, bulbous, bumpy

C and D

callous, callused, charred, chubby, chunky, coarse, cold, cold-blooded, concealed, conspicuous, corrugated, crabbed, cracked, craggy, cramped, creamy, crippled, crooked, cruel, dainty, deformed, delicate, disfigured, dislocated, distorted, dry

E to G

edematous, enormous, even, evil, fat, fearless, feeble, feral, fiendish, filthy, fine, flat, fleshy, flexible, fragile, frail, frost-bitten, frozen, furrowed, fuzzy, gloved, gnarled, gory, gouty, grimy, grotesque, grubby

H to L

hairy, hard, hesitant, hidden, high, hirsute, homicidal, huge, icy, immense, impotent, ineffectual, inflamed, inflexible, inhumane, irregular, jagged, jeweled, knobby, knotted, lacerated, lean, little, loose, lumpy

M to O

malformed, mangled, massive, meaty, merciless, mighty, mittened, moist, monstrous, muddy, naked, narrow, nervous, numb, old, outsized, oversized

P to R

painful, paralyzed, peculiar, pitted, plump, porky, powerful, prominent, protuberant, pudgy, puffy, raw, relentless, remorseless, restless, rheumatic, rigid, ripped, rocky, rough, rough-hewn, ruthless

S

sadistic, savage, scarred, scratchy, scrawny, sensitive, shaky, sharp, shiny, slack, slender, slimy, smooth, smudged, soft, sore, stiff, stony, sturdy, swift, swollen

T to V

taut, tender, tense, tentative, thick, thin, thorny, tight, torn, tough, tumescent, twisted, uncomfortable, uneven, useless, vicious, visible, vulnerable

W

warm, weather-beaten, weathered, well-defined, well-developed, wet, wicked, wide, withered, wounded

Similes and Metaphors

Sometimes a figure of speech adds the perfect touch. Don’t overdo, though. Provide enough imagery to stimulate the imagination, but not so much that you slow action or bore readers.

Exploit the following phrases to develop your own similes and metaphors:

• even as a row of piano keys
• like a brand-new scrub-brush
• red as his flushed face
• shaped like wizened prunes
• whiter than the single tooth in her cavernous mouth

Colors

Bleached knuckles will be lighter than hands. Some people’s knuckles are darker, especially if stained.

Here’s a basic color palette:

B to Y

black, blanched, bleached, blue, brown, bruised, ebon, grey, pale, pink, purple, red, sunburnt, swarthy, tanned, white, yellow

See also the Color/Tone section of 300+ Words to Describe Skin.

Scents

Substances that come into contact with hands and knuckles will transfer their scents. For instance:

A to L

almonds, bananas, buckskin, burnt matches, burnt toast, butter, butterscotch, citronella, cloves, coffee beans, cyanide, diesel fuel, eucalyptus, fertilizer, fish bait, fish guts, a garburator, gasoline, hair conditioner, hand sanitizer, hay, hazelnuts, honey, kerosene, leather

M to Y

maple bacon, molasses, moth balls, a musty suitcase, nicotine, nutmeg, peanuts, petrol, pigs’ blood, pine cleaner, pipe tobacco, popcorn, rancid grease, room deodorizer, rotting bodies, s’mores, saddle soap, sheep manure, skunk, stale beer, tar, tobacco, turpentine, vanilla, vomit, walnuts, yogurt

Shapes

Knuckles could be described as:

A to S

arched, concave, flat, misshapen, pointy, round, spikey, sunken

Verbs and Phrasal Verbs (1): Transitive

Knuckles might beat on a drum, pulverize someone’s nose, or rest on a counter. Exercise caution with independent body actions, though. Knuckles are not sentient.

B to P

beat (against, on), close on, crook (around, over), curve (around, over), damage, drag over, drum (against, on), graze, grip, hammer (against, on), hit (against, on), knock (against, on), pound (against, on), press (against, on), protrude (above, through), pulp, pulverize, punch

R to W

rap (on), rest (against, on), slam (against, into, on), sock, squash (against), squeeze, strike, stroke, thump (against), titillate, turn [red, white, etc.], whack

Verbs and Phrasal Verbs (2): Intransitive

Knuckles can ache, protrude, pulsate, or whiten. Period. These verbs don’t require objects.

A to W

ache, bend, bloat, break, buckle, bulge (out), burn, close, crack, cramp, dislocate, flatten, fragment, hurt, protrude, pulsate, smart, splinter, split, sting, swell, throb, twinge, whiten

Verbs (3): Verbs and Phrasal Verbs That Take Knuckle or Knuckles as an Object

An Arctic explorer might blow on knuckles to warm them. A hungry infant might gnaw on his until Mama feeds him. A teenager might tattoo hers with a favorite slogan.

A to W

abrade, adorn, bandage, bang, bedeck, bejewel, bering, bespatter, bind, bloody, blow on, break, caress, clench, conceal, crack, crush, deck, dig (into), dislocate, drag, fit (into, over), flex, fracture, gnaw on, grind, hide, injure, kiss, lacerate, mangle, mash, mutilate, nick, paint, pop, rap, rip, rub, scrape, scratch, scrub, shred, skin, slide (into, over), smudge, stain, suck on, swathe, tattoo, tighten, wrench

Nouns

Ensure clear context if you include technical terms, as they might also refer to toe joints.

C to P

crooks of the fingers, distal interphalangeal joints (DIPs), finger joints, interphalangeal joints (IPs), jaw busters, knucks, knux, metacarpophalangeal joints (MCPs), nux, proximal interphalangeal joints (PIPs)

Props

Props flavor a story and inspire new ideas. Would anything in this list spice up your WIP?

A to F

acupuncture, boxer’s knuckle, boxing gloves, brass knuckles, a butterfly, a camera, a card game, a CAT scan, cat scratches, a caterpillar, a cement wall, a chef’s knife, a chess game, chin-ups, a computer keyboard, a computer mouse, a cramp, crayons, a crochet hook, crossed fingers, a dislocation, a dog bite, a finger cot, a flexor tendon injury, fly-tying, frostbite

G to R

a gang clash, gloves, a grenade, a guitar, hands folded in prayer, knitting needles, a laser pointer, lemon juice [for bleaching], a massage, meat tenderizer, mittens, an MMA match, an MRI scan, an OK sign, a paintbrush, peroxide [for bleaching], a pet bird, a piano, pushups, rings, rope-climbing

S to X

a sabre, a sagittal band injury, a salute, a saxophone, a scalpel, a shadow-puppet show, shoelaces, a sliver, a snakebite, a straight razor, a street fight, a string around the finger, a sword, a tab from a beer can, a tattooed ring, a tensor bandage, a thumbs-down sign, a thumbs-up sign, a tic, a toilet plunger, trigger finger surgery, a V-for-victory sign, a walking cane, a wart, an x-ray

Clichés and Idioms

Trite phrases are often the first constructs that spring to mind while we write. Although they function well in dialogue, it’s best to replace them in most narrative. For instance:

• knuckle bones: dice
• knuckle-dragger: ape, boor, klutz, lout, oaf
• knucklehead: dolt, dullard, fool, ignoramus
• knuckle-sandwich: face-punch, mouth-punch
• near the knuckle: crude, offensive, rude, suggestive
• to go the knuckle: clout, strike, pummel, punch
• to knuckle down: strive, struggle, toil, work
• to knuckle under: capitulate, submit, yield
• to rap on the knuckles: chastise, punish, rebuke, reprimand
• to white-knuckle: brave, endure, suffer, survive