Tongs

Tongs

Tongs are and lifting tools, of which there are many forms adapted to their specific use. Some are merely large pincers or nippers, but the greatest number fall into three classes:

# Tongs which have long arms terminating in small flat circular ends of tongs and are pivoted close to the handle, as in the common fire-tongs, used for picking up pieces of coal and placing them on a fire.
# Tongs consisting of a single band of metal bent round one or two bands joined at the head by a spring, as in sugar-tongs, asparagus-tongs, and the like.
# Tongs in which the pivot or joint is placed close to the gripping ends, such as blacksmith's tongs or crucible-tongs.

The tongs are the most-used cooking utensil when grilling, as they provide a way to move, rotate and turn the food with delicate precision.

A special form of tongs, known as "lazy-tongs," consists of a pair of grippers at the end of a series of levers pivoted together like scissors, the whole being closed or extended by the movement of the handles communicated to the first set of levers and thence to the grippers, the whole forming an extensible pair of tongs for gripping and lifting things at a distance.

ee also

*Food preparation utensils
*Forceps
*Tweezers
* Hot cell (Tongs are often used in hot cells to permit the manipulation of radioactive isotopes.

External links


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Tongs — Tongs, n. pl. [OE. tonge, tange, AS. tange; akin to D. tang, G. zanga, OHG. zanga, Don. tang, Sw. t[*a]ng, Icel. t[ o]ng, Gr. da knein to bite, Skr. da[ n]i[,c], da[,c]. [root]59. Cf. {Tang} a strong taste, anything projecting.] An instrument,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • tongs — (n.) O.E. tange, tang tongs, from P.Gmc. *tango (Cf. O.S. tanga, O.N. töng, Swed. tông, O.Fris. tange, M.Du. tanghe, Du. tang, O.H.G. zanga, Ger. Zange), lit. that which bites, from PIE root *dank …   Etymology dictionary

  • tongs — [ tɔŋz ] noun plural 1. ) a metal or plastic object that consists of two connected arms that you push together in order to pick something up: a pair of sugar tongs 2. ) BRITISH a CURLING IRON …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • tongs — tongs; tongs·man; …   English syllables

  • tongs — ► PLURAL NOUN 1) a tool with two movable arms that are joined at one end, used for picking up and holding things. 2) curling tongs. ORIGIN Old English …   English terms dictionary

  • tongs — [tôŋz, täŋz] pl.n. [ME tongys, pl. of tonge < OE tange, akin to Ger zange < IE base * denk̑ , to bite: basic sense “those that bite together”] [sometimes with sing. v.] a device for seizing or lifting objects, having two long arms pivoted… …   English World dictionary

  • tongs — (tongs) an instrument for grasping and holding, consisting of two arms joined by a hinge or pivot …   Medical dictionary

  • tongs — [tɔŋz US ta:ŋz, to:ŋz] n [plural] [: Old English; Origin: tang (singular)] a tool that you use to lift up small objects. It has two bars joined at one end, that you press together to lift objects …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • -tongs — tongs, etc noun Garden implements of varying forms for getting rid of weeds ● weed …   Useful english dictionary

  • Tongs — Tong  Pour l’article homophone, voir Thongue. Une paire de tongs …   Wikipédia en Français

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