pair of tongs
1
2.2
- noun
- /pɛr əv tɔŋz/
:
pinzas
- As is typical with most Mexican bakeries, you take a metal tray and a pair of tongs and go "shopping" through the cases of baked goods, selecting your delicious treats.
- pick with a pair of tongs
- turn with a pair of tongs
Examples
-
She goes to the stove and, with one hand, removes the package of rice with a pair of tongs, and with the other, wipes the water from the plastic with a paper towel.
Fiction book (1998) -
She used a pair of tongs to lift the hot bread from the oven.
-
She started the gas fire under the grill and used a pair of tongs to put some meat on to cook for them.
Fiction book (1999) -
To keep it from sealing, hold the top flap up with a pair of tongs until the wonton starts to fry.
Blog text (4) -
Bessie took a pair of tongs and lifted a rubber nipple from the pan of boiling water, as if preparing for surgery.
Fiction book (1996) -
Brad seems to be listening intently—too intently, she notices—to her father, who pokes at the steaks with a pair of tongs.
Fiction book (1994) -
Reduce the heat to low and add the vinegar and sugar, stirring until dissolved. Add all of the tomatoes, bring to a simmer for an hour. After an hour, while the chutney is simmering away, pick out as many skins as you can with a pair of tongs.
Blog text (18) -
The chef picked up the grilled vegetables with a pair of tongs to serve them.
-
He grabbed a pair of tongs to carefully turn the sizzling meat on the barbecue.
Synonyms
14
2.4
A tool with two arms joined at one end for gripping things
3
2.8
Small tool with two thin arms used to pick up small things
1
1.0
A tool with two arms that you use to pick up hot or small things
1
5.6
A tool with two long arms used to hold and lift blocks of ice
A metal tool with two arms used to pick up and move hot coals in a fire
A tool with two long arms for picking up hot coals in a fireplace
A tool with two joined arms used to hold or pull things
How Strong
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derived from 'pair' (two matching items) combined with 'tongs' (a device for grasping): together they denote the two-armed tool used to grip or lift objects, with 'of' serving a grammatical linking role. This is a straightforward, compositional noun phrase following cross-linguistically common partitive/measure patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily understand it.
Etymology
The noun pair of tongs comes from the tool's two matching arms. Imagine two long sticks joined at one end that you squeeze to pick up hot food, and because it is literally a pair of tongs, the name now means the hand tool used 'to grip and lift' hot or fragile items.