Hammer and tongs
Suggest a CorrectionMeaning
With great energy, force or aggression, as in working, arguing or attacking without restraint. Usually modifies a vigorous activity and often follows go at it. The force may be productive, as in hard work, or hostile, as in an argument or fight. Regional use: English blacksmithing image; now especially British and Commonwealth English.
Origin
The image is a blacksmith holding hot metal with tongs and striking it repeatedly with a hammer, so both tools participate in forceful work. Lexicographical dating differs: World Wide Words reports an Oxford English Dictionary record from 1708, whereas Merriam-Webster gives circa 1780. Both place figurative use in the eighteenth century, but neither date proves when the comparison was first spoken or who made it into a fixed expression.
Research Sources
Variants
- At it hammer and tongs
- Go at it hammer and tongs
Usage Examples
- The two candidates went at each other hammer and tongs during the final debate.
- Volunteers worked hammer and tongs to reopen the flooded library by Monday.
- Both legal teams argued hammer and tongs over the disputed clause.