Make Your Point > Archived Issues > HAMMER AND TONGS
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As we check out the phrase hammer and tongs, see if you can recall another term that suggests the use of heat and metal:
We've used the powerful phrase "hammer and tongs" in English since the year 1708 or so. But the technology it refers to is ancient.
(Source: the artist Marc Lapierre)
Part of speech:
Pick the slangy, folksy, rare but easily understood term "hammer and tongs" when you want to emphasize the power and focus behind someone's actions.
"I owe a lot to Gary Mahoney. He was the campus conservative back in the middle '70s, when I was a student at the University of Southern California and we went at it hammer and tongs a few times on the opinion pages of the Daily Trojan. He made me better in the same way college itself did."
Explain the meaning of "hammer and tongs" without saying "fiercely" or "tooth and nail."
Frank Kenney recalls arguing with his boss about the best slogan for their beer:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
1.
The opposite of HAMMER AND TONGS could be
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