Fist

• The identifiable 'accent' associated with a particular telegraph operator. According to Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon, the patterns associated with individual operaters are sufficiently unique that it is possible to recognize them fairly accurately (and also to fake them).
• A fighting style--possibly a bad translation from Asian-language martial arts movies. I recall hearing it used this way in Fist of Legend--as a Westerner with no martial arts experience, it seems odd to me to break down how one fights into different sets of moves. Particularly when a single person knows several fists, it was initially baffling that s/he wouldn't simply learn a bunch of stuff and use whatever made the most sense at the time--rather, the characters seemed to decide on a fist, and then use it until there was a conscious decision to change fists. I've been trying to explain it to myself, and it seems as though there might be stances associated with particular moves, as well as sets of moves that chain well--since you really DO need to make a conscious decision to adopt a particular stance, you're already committing yourself to one set of moves or another at that point.
• Short for Shadowfist, a trading card game that was defunct for several years, and has recently been revived.

Fist (?), n. [OE. fist, fust, AS. fst; akin to D. vuist, OHG. fst, G. faust, and prob. to L. pugnus, Gr. fist, with the fist. Cf. Pugnacious, Pigmy.]

1.

The hand with the fingers doubled into the palm; the closed hand, especially as clinched tightly for the purpose of striking a blow.

Who grasp the earth and heaven with my fist. Herbert.

2.

The talons of a bird of prey.

More light than culver in the falcon's fist. Spenser.

3. print.

the index mark [⇒], used to direct special attention to the passage which follows.

Hand over fist Naut., rapidly; hand over hand.

© Webster 1913.

Fist, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fisted; p. pr. & vb. n. Fisting.]

1.

To strike with the fist.

Dryden.

2.

To gripe with the fist.

Shak.

© Webster 1913.