with your bare hands

with (one's) bare hands

Using only one's hands. The term typically means without tools, etc., but can also mean without the machinery that would normally be expected to be used in the task being discussed. We had no shovel so we dug the hole with our bare hands. Can you believe she sanded all that wood with her bare hands, using only sandpaper?
See also: bare, hand
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

with your bare hands

COMMON If you do something with your bare hands, you do it without using any weapons or tools. If I thought you'd hurt him, I'd kill you now with my bare hands. Rescue workers and residents were digging through tonnes of mud with their bare hands yesterday in search of survivors. Note: You can also say that someone does something bare-handed. A man has wrestled a two-metre crocodile bare-handed in a north Queensland river to save his pet dog from its jaws. Note: This expression is used to emphasize that the thing done is difficult or dangerous.
See also: bare, hand
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

with your bare ˈhands

with your hands only, without any tools or weapons: He said he’d killed a crocodile with his bare hands!
See also: bare, hand
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • bare hands, with one's
  • with (one's) bare hands
  • within (one's) means
  • make do
  • from the stretch
  • without a second thought
  • leave (one) to (one's) own devices
  • leave somebody to their own devices
  • leave someone to their own devices
  • leave to own devices
References in periodicals archive
Today, you only eat with your bare hands when you commemorate Filipino culture and traditions.
Eating with your bare hands encourages you to let loose.
Dynamics Done With Your Bare Hands: Lecture Notes by Diana Davis, Bryce Weaver, Roland K.
Available in 11 strengths for a perfect fit, whether you are just starting off, rehabilitating an injury or can already crack coconuts with your bare hands, CoC Grippers build maximum strength in minimum time.
Available in 11 strengths for a perfect fit, whether you are just starting off, rehabilitating an injury, or can already crack coconuts with your bare hands, CoC Grippers build maximum strength in minimum time.
When replacing a halogen bulb, do not touch the bulb with your bare hands. The oils from your skin will damage the quartz surface when the light is turned on.
"The thrill of catching a catfish with your bare hands only rivals having sex for the first time," he says.
The awful exploits of a top London model agency Premier Model Management continue this week with more diva antics, rampant egoism and the ability to use words like 'transcendent' to describe a jumper without suddenly feeling the need to dig a big pit in the nearest woods with your bare hands and fling yourself in it.
IF you ever wanted to smash up bits of metal with your bare hands, this is the show for you.
Noodlin' is fishing for catfish with your bare hands, by dangling them in front of a catfish's hole.
"Basically, if you don't know spiders, don't touch them with your bare hands," says Petersen.
In fact, Scotch Bonnet chillies are so hot, you shouldn't touch them with your bare hands.