Meanings
- idiomaticIn a manner indicating seriousness of intent and capability of harm.
When they had an argument they went at it hammer and tongs.
3 more examples
Trafton was personally challenged, in the Davenport hotel Saturday evening, and a handful of these birds from Rock Island heckled and "razzed" him into bets that he would be forced to take time before the end of the first quarter. Trafton bet till his money was gone and went into the game yesterday hammer and tongs.
1920 November 8, “Islanders and Staleys Battle To Scoreless Draw in Sensational Game”, in Quad City TimesShe sort of let things go, didn't get me a proper dinner when I came home from work, and if I said anything, flew out at me. And I flew back, hammer and tongs.
1928, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter XIV, in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, [Germany?]: Privately printed, →OCLCThe lost time had been recovered at Lichfield, but Corbett and Walls continued to put the engine to it hammer and tongs all the way to Crewe.
1960 April 28, O. S. Nock, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 268Synonyms: hot and heavy, intensely, no holds barred
Synonyms & antonyms
phraseIn a manner indicating seriousness of intent and capability of harm.
Origin
Perhaps from the use of a hammer and tongs by traditional blacksmiths. May also be suggestive of the manner in which the hammer is used.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Icelandic ganga í af lífs og sálar kröftum, leggja sig allan fram
- ganga í af lífs og sálar kröftumWith tools indicating seriousness of intent and capability of harm
- leggja sig allan framWith tools indicating seriousness of intent and capability of harm
Cite this entry
hammer and tongs. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hammer%20and%20tongs
“hammer and tongs.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hammer%20and%20tongs. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hammer and tongs,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hammer%20and%20tongs.
Source: hammer and tongs on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.