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

Do you crack your knuckles while waiting for inspiration? Maybe you massage them as you think. Or perhaps you tap them against your chin.

Maybe chin taps aren’t a good idea. The World Health Organization recommends avoidance of face touching. Ditto for shaking hands and other actions that cause skin-to-skin contact.

This post presents a few words that will help you knuckle down and get creative with knuckles — no skin-to-skin contact required.

Emotion Beats and Physical Manifestations

Consider the following emotion beats, remembering that readers need context to intuit character motivation. Also remember WHO advice, which adds a layer of emotional ambivalence.

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 tight 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. Careful not to 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