Dictionary Definition
tongs n : any of various devices for taking hold
of objects; usually have two hinged legs with handles above and
pointed hooks below [syn: pair of
tongs]
User Contributed Dictionary
Noun
tongsTranslations
an instrument
- CJK Characters: 鋏, 铗
- Chinese: 鉗子, 钳子 (qiánzi)
- Dutch: tang
- French: pinces m|p
- German: Zange ; Salatzange ; Nudelzange ; Zuckerzange
- Greek: λαβίδες (labides)
- Hebrew:
- Italian: tenaglie f|p
- Japanese: - (-basami), - (-bashi); e.g., パンばさみ (panbasami), 火箸 (ひばし, hibashi)
- Korean: 집게 (jipge)
- Polish: szczypce
- Portuguese: tenaz ; pinça
- Russian: схваты (sxváty) m|p, щипцы (ščiptsý) m|p
- Spanish: pinzas f|p
Extensive Definition
Tongs are gripping 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.
Tongs also have a special place in matters of
theology. An opinion
cited in Pirke Avot
(Ethics of the Fathers), a Talmudic tractate, states that God
created "the original tongs, for tongs must be made with tongs."
Jewish thinkers therefore have used tongs as proof to God's
existence.
See also
tongs in Bosnian: Mašice
tongs in Japanese: トング