as in violent
marked by bursts of destructive force or intense activity
the scuffle escalated into a hammer-and-tongs fight
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as in sharply
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hammer-and-tongs
Chris Wheatley, Longreads, 16 July 2024
The action on Nevarro is crisp and well-presented, highlighted by the Armorer taking out the sniper’s nest singlehandedly with only her hammer and tongs as weapons.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 29 Mar. 2023
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
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
Adverb
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 action on Nevarro is crisp and well-presented, highlighted by the Armorer taking out the sniper’s nest singlehandedly with only her hammer and tongs as weapons.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 29 Mar. 2023
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hammer-and-tongs
Adjective
-
The prosecution appears poised to use Combs' feud with Knight, as well as another series of encounters with rapper Kid Cudi, as demonstrative of a violent streak.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
28 May 2025
-
Yet the Brazilian proceeded to show how Pereira’s faith was misplaced, first with a stroppy performance at Chelsea that prompted his head coach to publicly criticise his body language and then with his second violent meltdown of the season, against Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez in the FA Cup.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
28 May 2025
Adjective
-
She and her fellow hybrids are sent to investigate the site, leading to the encounter of mysterious life forms — including one ferocious Xenomorph.—
Nick Romano,
EW.com,
23 May 2025
-
Both general elections are expected to be competitive, but only the New Jersey Democratic primary has featured ferocious competition out of the four party primaries.—
Ross O'Keefe,
The Washington Examiner,
19 May 2025
Adjective
-
Caron was used to seeing my fiery side, the fierce competitor, the demanding coach.—
Jim Calhoun with Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
31 May 2025
-
The feedback was fierce—storyboards dismantled, ideas shredded—but the environment was psychologically safe.—
Ann Kowal Smith,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2025
Adverb
-
Union Station: From Transit Hub to Cultural Canvas When Osmington Inc. won the fiercely competitive bid to manage Union Station’s retail and programming over a decade ago, Vice President Syma Shah described a profound sense of duty.—
Byron Armstrong,
Forbes.com,
2 June 2025
-
In fiercely competitive areas, like the New York City suburbs, where prices are still rising and homes sell fast, properties that would have gotten a dozen offers a year ago now get two or three.—
Ronda Kaysen,
New York Times,
2 June 2025
Adjective
-
New York trailed by 13 with 5:38 left in the game and tried to continue the series’ streak of someone — Knicks or Pacers — making a furious fourth quarter comeback.—
Joe Vardon,
New York Times,
27 May 2025
-
Connecticut has funneled $12.5 billion in surpluses since 2017 to build reserves and scale back pension debt, a furious pace that far outstrips any similar effort in modern history.—
Keith M. Phaneuf,
Hartford Courant,
25 May 2025
Adjective
-
President Donald Trump’s turbulent tariff policy is projected to cause a sharper slowdown in economic growth in the United States and around the world than previously expected, the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) found in a Tuesday report.—
Solcyré Burga,
Time,
3 June 2025
-
This turbulent phase will pass, leading to more peaceful times ahead.—
Essence,
Essence,
2 June 2025
Adjective
-
Cloudy skies, rough surf and limited battery life can all reduce their effectiveness.—
Melissa Cristina Márquez,
Forbes.com,
2 June 2025
-
If your skin is extremely dry and rough, however, the La Roche-Posay Body Moisturizer is rich in prebiotic thermal water, shea butter, and niacinamide is another one of Tookes’ recommendations.—
India Espy-Jones,
Essence,
2 June 2025
Adjective
-
The team notes that the gases are chemically indistinguishable from gases present in volcanic rocks from Hawaiʻi, where volcanism is fueled by a mantle plume.—
David Bressan,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
-
There’s a volcanic hot disc, an icy cold disc, an aquatic disc, and a verdant blush disc.—
Bill Desowitz,
IndieWire,
27 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hammer-and-tongs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hammer-and-tongs. Accessed 7 Jun. 2025.
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