Dictionary.com
definitions

lazy tongs

|

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.

RELATED CONTENT

Is Internet Slang Messing Up Our Writing Habits?Read more in this article about some frequently asked questions and fun facts related to our definitions.
READ MORE
Ode To The SchwaHow do I love thee? Let me count the schwas. Not exactly what Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote in Sonnet 43 . . . but we like it all the same. Why? Because it finally pays tribute to the most frequent vowel sound in English: the schwa. What is the schwa and how does it sound? Simply put, the schwa is a reduced vowel sound written as …
READ MORE

Nearby words

  1. lazy bed,
  2. lazy daisy stitch,
  3. lazy eye,
  4. lazy guy,
  5. lazy susan,
  6. lazybones,
  7. laënnec,
  8. laënnec's cirrhosis,
  9. laënnec, rené théophile hyacinthe,
  10. lb

Origin of lazy tongs

First recorded in 1830–40
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lazy tongs

  • The 'lazy-tongs' device was fixed to the base-plate at one end, the other being free to move, and carrying the clip for the cards.

    Sharps and Flats|John Nevil Maskelyne

  • Its construction was essentially that of a pair of lazy-tongs, arranged as in figs. 30 and 31.

    Sharps and Flats|John Nevil Maskelyne

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