手加減 ― pull punches

手加減する、あるいは妥協する、といった意味に用いられる表現です。

まずは下記の記事引用をご覧ください。


The newly formed Mental Health Advisory Group includes the Australian of the Year Patrick McGorry, whose speciality is helping mentally ill young people.

The Commonwealth's first Minister for Mental Health, Mark Butler, says expertise is needed to develop lasting and cost-effective reforms.

"A particular cohort of the population that I want this group to focus on is the group that has severe and persistent mental illness and have had often for some decades," he said.

"They might be middle-aged adults now. And often [they] are homeless or have very unstable periodic, episodic accommodation and work."

Earlier this month Professor McGorry, who is not afraid to speak his mind, said Australia's detention centres were not good for the mental health of detainees.

Mr Butler says Professor McGorry and the other panel members would not be expected to pull any punches.

"We've asked them onto this group to do some pretty intensive work, but we recognise they hold important positions in the community and those positions won't in any way be compromised," he said.
(Brendan Trembath. Experts unite to tackle mental health issues. ABC News. December 23, 2010.)


”パンチ”（打撃）を手加減しない、という意味ではありますが、比喩的には、批判など言論上の姿勢において妥協しない、といった意味で用いられることが多いようです。

手元にあるCollins Cobuild Dictionary of Idiomsの定義によると、

If someone does not pull their punches or pulls no punches, they speak very frankly about something and do not moderate their comments or criticism in any way.
(Collins Cobuild Dictionary of Idioms. Harper Collins Publishers. 1995.)

そして、例文として以下のようにあります。

I didn't pull any punches. We all knew we had a problem, a critical one, and that decisions would have to be reached quickly.