hammer and tongs

adverb

|Updated on: 9 Jun 2018

Definition of hammer and tongs

: with great force, vigor, or violence

went at it hammer and tongs

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hammer-and-tongs

adjective

Recent Examples of hammer and tongs from the Web

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, "This wretched election shows why the closed GOP primary is bad for Idaho voters | Idaho Statesman," 16 May 2018
As the races proceed, surrogates for Mr. Cordray like Senator Elizabeth Warren are likely to take hammer and tongs to the president to rally the Democratic base.

— New York Times, "Democrats in Rust Belt: Stay Close to Trump, but Not Too Close," 9 May 2018
The world knew them as once-in-a-generation rivals, tennis titans who went at each other hammer and tongs.

— kenneth turan, latimes.com, "A classic tennis rivalry is dramatized in 'Borg vs. McEnroe'," 12 Apr. 2018
But Kirsten, who was born in downstate Belleville and grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and Kansas City, Mo., enjoys creating wildly ambitious tasks for herself, then going at them hammer and tongs.

— john von rhein, chicagotribune.com, "Joan of Arc lives anew, reimagined in Amy Beth Kirsten's 'Savior'," 27 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hammer and tongs.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.