Knuckle tattoo

A knuckle tattoo is a specific kind of tattoo that most commonly uses two groups of four-letter words or one eight-letter word.[1] It is not necessarily a prison tattoo, as sometimes believed, but remains an unpopular form of tattoo—alongside hand tattoos in general—due to the difficulty of hiding it in situations such as a formal setting where it would be seen as crass.[2] One of the most popular knuckle tattoos reads LOVE / HATE, made famous by Robert Mitchum's character Reverend Harry Powell in the 1955 film The Night of the Hunter.[3][4] Some people also use their knuckles to tattoo drawings and images, sometimes in groups of four, such as the four symbols of a deck of playing cards to signify good luck. Astrological symbols also make for popular designs.