go at it hammer and tongs

To do something or perform some task with tremendous fervor, determination, energy, or forcefulness. An allusion to the force with which a blacksmith strikes metal using a hammer and tongs. What started as a minor disagreement has escalated into a heated argument, and the two have been going at it hammer and tongs ever since. I need to go at this paper hammer and tongs if I want to keep my A in the class.

hammer and tongs

Forcefully, with great vigor. For example, She went at the weeds hammer and tongs, determined to clean out the long neglected flowerbed . Often put as go at it hammer and tongs, this phrase alludes to the blacksmith's tools. [c. 1700]

go at it hammer and tongs

BRITISH, INFORMAL

1. If you go at it hammer and tongs, you do something with a lot of energy. `He loved gardening,' sniffed Mrs Gascoigne. `He went at it hammer and tongs as soon as he got back from work.' Note: You can use hammer and tongs in other structures with a similar meaning. She will go hammer and tongs to get what she wants. They'll come at us from all angles, hammer and tongs, but when we get the ball we'll go at them. It should be a good game.

2. If two people are going at it hammer and tongs, they are having a noisy argument. `They were going at it hammer and tongs.' — `What about?' — `I'm not sure, but they were arguing.' Note: You can also say that one person is going at the other hammer and tongs. Goodness knows how long she had been going hammer and tongs at the child like this. Note: The image here is of a blacksmith holding a piece of heated iron with a pair of tongs (= metal tool for holding hot objects), and striking the iron repeatedly with a hammer.

hammer and tongs

with great energy and noise.

The image here is of a blacksmith striking the hot iron removed from the forge with a pair of tongs.

1996 Emma Lathen Brewing Up a Storm The big fight she had with Sean Cushing . They were going at it hammer and tongs.

be/go at somebody/something ˌhammer and ˈtongs

(informal) do something, especially argue or fight, with a lot of energy and noise: The boss went at me hammer and tongs. I’ve never seen him so angry. The couple in the flat upstairs are always at it hammer and tongs.This idiom refers to the loud noise made by a blacksmith at work when he is making horseshoes. He uses a pair of tongs to hold the hot iron and a hammer to beat the iron into the shape of the shoe.

See also: and, go, hammer, somebody, something, tongs

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

hammer and tongs, go at it

Engage with great vigor in work, a contest, a fight, or some other undertaking. This metaphor from the blacksmith’s tools— the hammer used to shape hot metal taken from the fire with tongs—replaced an earlier metaphor from the same source, “between the hammer and the anvil,” with a meaning similar to that of between a rock and a hard place. The current expression was in print by 1708 and has been a cliché since the mid-nineteenth century.

词组	go at it hammer and tongs
释义	go at it hammer and tongs go at it hammer and tongs To do something or perform some task with tremendous fervor, determination, energy, or forcefulness. An allusion to the force with which a blacksmith strikes metal using a hammer and tongs. What started as a minor disagreement has escalated into a heated argument, and the two have been going at it hammer and tongs ever since. I need to go at this paper hammer and tongs if I want to keep my A in the class. See also: and, go, hammer, tongs Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. hammer and tongs Forcefully, with great vigor. For example, She went at the weeds hammer and tongs, determined to clean out the long neglected flowerbed . Often put as go at it hammer and tongs, this phrase alludes to the blacksmith's tools. [c. 1700] See also: and, hammer, tongs The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. go at it hammer and tongs BRITISH, INFORMAL 1. If you go at it hammer and tongs, you do something with a lot of energy. `He loved gardening,' sniffed Mrs Gascoigne. `He went at it hammer and tongs as soon as he got back from work.' Note: You can use hammer and tongs in other structures with a similar meaning. She will go hammer and tongs to get what she wants. They'll come at us from all angles, hammer and tongs, but when we get the ball we'll go at them. It should be a good game. 2. If two people are going at it hammer and tongs, they are having a noisy argument. `They were going at it hammer and tongs.' — `What about?' — `I'm not sure, but they were arguing.' Note: You can also say that one person is going at the other hammer and tongs. Goodness knows how long she had been going hammer and tongs at the child like this. Note: The image here is of a blacksmith holding a piece of heated iron with a pair of tongs (= metal tool for holding hot objects), and striking the iron repeatedly with a hammer. See also: and, go, hammer, tongs Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. hammer and tongs with great energy and noise. The image here is of a blacksmith striking the hot iron removed from the forge with a pair of tongs. 1996 Emma Lathen Brewing Up a Storm The big fight she had with Sean Cushing . They were going at it hammer and tongs. See also: and, hammer, tongs Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary be/go at somebody/something ˌhammer and ˈtongs (informal) do something, especially argue or fight, with a lot of energy and noise: The boss went at me hammer and tongs. I’ve never seen him so angry. The couple in the flat upstairs are always at it hammer and tongs.This idiom refers to the loud noise made by a blacksmith at work when he is making horseshoes. He uses a pair of tongs to hold the hot iron and a hammer to beat the iron into the shape of the shoe. See also: and, go, hammer, somebody, something, tongs Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary hammer and tongs, go at it Engage with great vigor in work, a contest, a fight, or some other undertaking. This metaphor from the blacksmith’s tools— the hammer used to shape hot metal taken from the fire with tongs—replaced an earlier metaphor from the same source, “between the hammer and the anvil,” with a meaning similar to that of between a rock and a hard place. The current expression was in print by 1708 and has been a cliché since the mid-nineteenth century. See also: and, go, hammer The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer See also: go at it tooth and nail hammer and tongs hammer and tongs, go at it be at it hammer and tongs fight (someone or something) hammer and tongs fight hammer and tongs on the attack temper (something) with (something) temper with strike out at (something or some place) References in periodicals archive Team captain Murphy, who was speaking at the announcement of Ireland's first Concussion Symposium which takes place at Croke Park on October 8, said: "People look at it as a case that you're not going to want to win anything next year or the year after but without a doubt you're going to go at it hammer and tongs to win whatever the hell you can. TRANSITIONAL DONEGAL TARGET A SILVER LINING Everything else is really a want rather than a need while you hammer down your debts – think of it as a debt detox where you go at it hammer and tongs to get it done once and forever. Zero in on plan to become debt free "They go at it hammer and tongs for a few minutes and then either head back into pubs or clubs or fade into the night with their brief memories." THE REAL SIN CITY; CCTV shame of Belfast couples caught romping Start at a gentle pace, if you go at it hammer and tongs you'll soon see the alarm in his face. The Sex Doctor: I'm not confident about masturbating a man ``We feel it's unfair that you can have a situation where Caerphilly have admitted their only concern is the two play-off games and can pick whatever side they want between now and then, while Pontypool and Aberavon have to go at it hammer and tongs.'' Rugby Union: Division One clubs call for play-offs to be scrapped There's a scene in a lift when, as the door closes, we are expected to believe the two stars go at it hammer and tongs but the look on her face suggests, not sex, but that her leading man has just broken wind. GREY DAYS ALL OVER DAKOTA; RESULT! with sports betting's top tipster DEREK McGOVERN E-MAIL: betsguru@aol.com; ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JOHN SHAW "It was entertaining for the fans as they've seen two sides go at it hammer and tongs." Football: Forest sunk by a Leake
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