The term for a
duel where a
handkerchief (or
mouchoir in French) is used to determine the winner. Each
duellist holds a corner in their mouth, and the loser is the first to release their grip.
The duel "a mouchoir" is typically performed with knives, in the hope that the winning condition will turn a fatal knife fight into something merely painful and unpleasant. Pistols are also sometimes used - in at least one case, the seconds demanded that the duellists dig their grave first and fight inside it.