Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun plural A grasping device consisting of two arms that are joined, often at one end, as by a pivot or a scissorlike hinge.
from The Century Dictionary.
- See
tong .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun plural An instrument, usually of metal, consisting of two parts, or long shafts, jointed together at or near one end, or united by an elastic bow, used for handling things, especially hot coals or metals; -- often called a
pair of tongs .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Plural form of
tong . - noun An
instrument ortool used for picking things up withouttouching them with thehands orfingers , consisting of twoslats orgrips hinged at the end or in the middle, and sometimes including aspring to open the grips. - noun by extension (Plural form of
tong .) A large scissors-like two-piece center-hinged forged-iron implement with oval-loop handles and with pointed tips turned inward (in the same plane as and perpendicular to the handles) to facilitate lifting and carrying a block of ice. Often called ice tongs. - verb Third-person singular simple present indicative form of
tong .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun any of various devices for taking hold of objects; usually have two hinged legs with handles above and pointed hooks below
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The ride was long, but, with my saddle-bags and Lucy, a new mare my aunt had raised and given me, and clad in overalls, which we called tongs, I cared little for the mud, and often enough stopped to assist a chaise out of the deep holes, which made the roads dangerous for vehicles.
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Poop 'n' Scoop Canadian Winter Gloves: With built-in tongs, plus a special pocket where you can place your dog's business and keep your hands warm for the rest of the walk.
Week 888: Make up a word based on someone's name The Empress 2010
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I've heard you can hold a pepper by clasping it in tongs and holding it over the gas flame on the oven range, that is, if you have a gas range.
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So a team member can say that the tongs are the antennas to an extraterrestrial communications device and pretend to be tuning the antennas as they give their answer.
Joan Brunwasser: Kelly Donoughe: How Odyssey of the Mind Inspired This Alumnus Joan Brunwasser 2011
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So a team member can say that the tongs are the antennas to an extraterrestrial communications device and pretend to be tuning the antennas as they give their answer.
Joan Brunwasser: Kelly Donoughe: How Odyssey of the Mind Inspired This Alumnus Joan Brunwasser 2011
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A silver glow, like a blaze of molten escargot tongs, erupted from behind the ebony corona, and Claude felt himself trembling with a sort of euphoria.
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These Chinese gangs, what the Cantonese called tongs, had been in this country since the discovery of gold in California.
The Flower Net See, Lisa 1997
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The marriage over the tongs is a thing to scandalise any well-brought-up person, for before he joined the couple's hands, Jimmy jumped about in a startling way, uttering wild gibberish, and after the ceremony was over there was rough work, with incantations and blowing on pipes.
Auld Licht Idylls 1898
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The marriage over the tongs is a thing to scandalize any well-brought-up person, for before he joined the couple's hands Jimmy jumped about in a startling way, uttering wild gibberish, and after the ceremony was over there was rough work, with incantations and blowing on pipes.
Auld Licht Idyls 1898
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Here now is Fort Cornelius, and there is the moat, the sugar-basin is the citadel, and the tongs is the first trench, the decanter will represent the tall tower towards the south-west angle, and here, the wine glass -- this is me.
The Confessions of Harry Lorrequer — Complete Charles James Lever 1839
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