hammer and tongs

adverb

: with great force, vigor, or violence

went at it hammer and tongs

hammer-and-tongs adjective

Examples of hammer and tongs in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In 1971, authors Norman Mailer and Gore Vidal went at it hammer and tongs live on late-night TV in a showdown that allegedly spilled over into violence. —Chris Wheatley, Longreads, 16 July 2024

The two conservative groups that brought the case were targeted by Harris in 2012-13, right around the time the IRS was going hammer and tongs after Tea Party groups. —Dan McLaughlin, National Review, 1 July 2021

Two teams who seem destined to slug it out in the lower reaches of the table this season going hammer and tongs at each other never makes for a good watch. —SI.com, 18 Sep. 2019

The Reds went hammer and tongs in their efforts to find a second, though their hosts were able to hold off the onslaught until the final 10 minutes of the clash. —SI.com, 15 Aug. 2019

With two moderate Pyrenean climbs, Thursday’s Stage 12 from Toulouse, where cassoulet and rugby are both big, wasn’t tough enough for Thomas and his rivals to go at each other hammer and tongs. —Washington Post, 18 July 2019

The way to stand out from the others is to go hammer and tongs for the opponents’ jugulars, or to try to sound more extreme than the others. —Jim Jones, idahostatesman, 18 May 2018

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1780, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hammer and tongs

• belongs
• furlongs
• prolongs
• gongs
• longs
• prongs
• songs
• thongs
• throngs
• wrongs