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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hammer-and-tongs
Adjective
-
The group above is wanted in connection with a violent robbery on board a CTA bus in Washington Park on April 9.—
Jeramie Bizzle,
CBS News,
3 May 2026
-
More heavy elements, more violent eruptions.—
Paul Sutter,
Space.com,
3 May 2026
Adverb
-
If the bike lane is sharply delineated with curbs, that will help a lot.—
Christopher Bonanos,
Curbed,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Candidates diverge sharply on school police, Supt.—
Howard Blume,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Behind a ferocious defense and an offense that couldn’t miss, the Knicks led by 25 points after one quarter, by as many as 51 points in the first half, and by as many as 61 points after halftime.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
1 May 2026
-
Mo Chara and Móglaí Bap have always been ferocious rappers, two goliaths spitting bilingual bars over gritty electronica with the couplet-completing precision of Run the Jewels.—
Dean Van Nguyen,
Pitchfork,
30 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
The beat is knowingly Hoover-esque, gesturing toward familiar dramatic territory between lovers — before violently swerving in a more genre-forward direction.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
27 Apr. 2026
-
When Jewish institutions have been targeted — violently, repeatedly — the question is not whether to act, but how quickly and decisively.—
Elliot Cosgrove,
New York Daily News,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
This may explain why Suzanna’s mother is a somewhat indistinct presence in the novel (at least compared with fierce Sylvie)—patient, even serene behind bars, more eager to talk about her daughter’s future than about her own future, let alone her troubled past.—
James Wood,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
The Bloomberg-era street transformations weren’t popular at first, and pushback was fierce.—
Jonathan Timm,
New York Daily News,
3 May 2026
Adverb
-
Investors had cheered the talks and the prospect of change at a fiercely independent company that had relied on decades-old relationships.—
Edwin Chan,
Bloomberg,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The play follows a fiercely competitive group of real estate agents battling for survival in a ruthless sales contest.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Thomas Paine, released from prison and woven back into French society, wrote a long, furious letter to George Washington.—
Daniel Immerwahr,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
The Toronto Blue Jays erased a one-run deficit with a furious eighth inning against the Twins’ bullpen on Saturday, scoring eight earned runs before recording an out to rally for an 11-4 victory at Target Field.—
John Shipley,
Twin Cities,
2 May 2026
Adverb
-
Philosophers, in general, are used to disagreeing vehemently in the classroom and then gathering over a beer.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Tech lobbyists argue otherwise, and vehemently.—
Parmy Olson,
Twin Cities,
26 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hammer-and-tongs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hammer-and-tongs. Accessed 4 May. 2026.
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