There is some measure of machismo involved when a guy says he wants to talk mano a mano

Here I go again, thinking of ‘mano a mano’ in the literal sense. When I think of a guy wanting to talk ‘hand to hand’ with another guy, I think of something, well, less than macho. ‘Fight’ hand to hand, ok, but ‘talk’? Talk hand in hand (or 'vis-à-vis', or 'tête-à-tête'); fight hand to hand.