mano a mano
mano a mano — noun
1. a situation in which two people compete, argue, or fight directly against each o
a situation in which two people compete, argue, or fight directly against each other without help from others
The chess championship became a tense mano a mano between Nikhil and the defending champion.
a + adjective + mano a mano + between
What started as casual discussion turned into a heated mano a mano between Amir and HR over company policy.
Otis prefers a direct mano a mano with a rival rather than a group argument.
Voters wanted a real mano a mano between the candidates, not a scripted debate.
- team effort
a cooperative group undertaking, the opposite of a direct one-on-one contest
- negotiation
implies mutual discussion rather than direct confrontation
文法句型
a + adjective + mano a mano + between + noun phrase
用法筆記
Often used in sports, politics, and business to describe a decisive one-on-one contest. Distinguish from sense 2 (BULLFIGHT), which has a literal bullfighting meaning.
常見錯誤
2. a traditional Spanish or Latin American bullfighting event in which two matadors
a traditional Spanish or Latin American bullfighting event in which two matadors take turns fighting several bulls each, rather than the usual single-matador format
Eitan watched two matadors fight in his first mano a mano at the famous Plaza de Toros in Madrid.
plural noun phrase: 'his first mano a mano'
The two matadors displayed remarkable courage during the afternoon's mano a mano in Seville's historic bullring.
Manuela's documentary traced the history of bullfighting's mano a mano in Spanish culture.
Tickets for the upcoming mano a mano at the Mexico City bullring sold out within a few hours.
文法句型
mano a mano + between + plural noun phrase
用法筆記
This sense refers specifically to a bullfighting format. In broader non-bullfighting contexts, sense 1 (HEAD-TO-HEAD) is far more common.
mano a mano — adverb
1. in a way that involves two people competing, arguing, or fighting directly with
in a way that involves two people competing, arguing, or fighting directly with each other, without intermediaries or external help
Putri and Bao debated the issue mano a mano for over two hours.
verb of confrontation + mano a mano
The two lawyers went mano a mano in the courtroom for the entire afternoon.
Cole and Yael negotiated mano a mano instead of sending representatives.
At the summit, the leaders clashed mano a mano over trade tariffs.
- head-to-head
more neutral and widely understood; less dramatic than 'mano a mano'
- one-on-one
emphasises the number of participants rather than the confrontational nature
- directly
a blunter, less colourful alternative without the confrontational nuance
- indirectly
through intermediaries rather than face to face
- collectively
as part of a group effort rather than a direct individual contest
文法句型
go/face off/debate + mano a mano (+ with + noun phrase)
用法筆記
Only takes the adverb slot after a verb of confrontation (debate, argue, compete, fight, go, face off). Cannot be placed at the beginning of a sentence as a sentence adverb.