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hammer and tongs
adverb
- with great vigor, determination, or vehemence:
When he starts a job he goes at it hammer and tongs.
Synonyms: wholeheartedly, fiercely, energetically, hard
Word History and Origins
Origin of hammer and tongs1
Idioms and Phrases
Forcefully, with great vigor. For example, She went at the weeds hammer and tongs, determined to clean out the long neglected flowerbed . Often put as go at it hammer and tongs , this phrase alludes to the blacksmith's tools. [c. 1700]Example Sentences
Would he make a stand against disciplined tars who were accustomed to close in, hammer-and-tongs?
After some slight exchanges they began a hammer-and-tongs game, in which Proser scored heavily.
For this kind of irregular guerilla warfare was even more in Cleg's way than a plain, hammer-and-tongs, knockdown fight.
In another moment they were both at it, hammer-and-tongs, with the advantage in Bulger's favor, owing to his build and strength.
Thursday morning came, bright with promise, and a profitable forenoon was spent in the old hammer-and-tongs manner.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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