lazy tongs

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noun (used with a plural verb)

extensible tongs for grasping objects at a distance, consisting of a series of pairs of crossing pieces, each pair pivoted together in the middle and connected with the next pair at the extremities.

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Origin of lazy tongs

First recorded in 1830–40

Words nearby lazy tongs

lazybones, lazy daisy stitch, lazy eye, lazy guy, lazy Susan, lazy tongs, lb., lb. ap., lb. av., LBD, lbf

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use lazy tongs in a sentence

Cereal brings back memories of lazy mornings and easy extravagance, a time when worries were few and comfort was plenty.
Cereal Cafe’s Big Bowl of Hate|David Levesley|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But instead of fighting the trend, too many of us simply capitulate—lazy, credulous fools that we are.
Walmart Lifts Black Friday’s Curse|James Poulos|November 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
High Rents Are Killing the Restaurant Capital By Will Doig Exorbitant rents, the rise of Brooklyn, lazy millennials.
7 Must-Read Stories about Tim Cook, Amelia Earheart and Slut-o-Ween: The Best of The Beast|William Boot|November 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A lazy off-season afternoon in Palmer's house is like being trapped in a Rube Goldberg cartoon.
Will the Real Jim Palmer Please Stand Up|Tom Boswell|September 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

And this time, the guy who ‘eats too much, is lazy, and loves to play music’ is taking his fight to the machines.
I'm Not Country or Pop. I'm Just Pure Garth Brooks.|David Masciotra|September 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The lazy giant was sprawling on the most comfortable of the sofas; the pair were alone in the dainty little drawing-room.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
The lower class were idle and lazy, and willing to serve any sovereign who appealed to them by ostentation.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
Sprawling was lazy and wore out sofas, and little boys were not expected to talk.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
And one of the seraphims flew to me, and in his hand was a live coal, which he had taken with the tongs off the altar.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
The almost lazy naturalness and simplicity faded gradually out of it, revealing the alert and seductive woman of the world.
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens

British Dictionary definitions for lazy tongs

lazy tongs

pl n

a set of tongs with extensible arms to allow objects to be grasped or handled at a distance

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012