sugar-tongs
Definition
- Noun (plural in form but singular or plural in construction):
- A small utensil for serving sugar: "sugar-tongs" refers to a pair of small tongs, typically made of metal or silver, used to pick up and serve sugar cubes or lumps from a sugar bowl.
Usage Examples
- (Utensil for serving sugar cubes.)
- (Action of using the utensil.)
- (Describing the object's decoration.)
Advanced Usage
"to use sugar-tongs": to employ the utensil for serving sugar in a formal or traditional setting.
- At the formal dinner, guests were expected to use the sugar-tongs rather than their fingers. (Proper etiquette for handling sugar.)
"a pair of sugar-tongs": the standard way to refer to the utensil, as it consists of two arms joined at one end.
- She inherited a silver pair of sugar-tongs from her grandmother. (The complete utensil.)
Variants and Related Words
Sugar tongs (also spelled without a hyphen): alternative spelling of "sugar-tongs."
- The sugar tongs were missing from the set. (Same utensil, different spelling.)
Tongs (n): a tool with two arms used for picking up objects.
- He used tongs to lift the hot coal. (General tool, not specific to sugar.)
Synonyms
- Sugar nippers: a less common term for small tongs used for sugar.
- Sugar server: a broader term for any utensil used to serve sugar (e.g., spoon or tongs).
Phrasal Verbs
- Pick up with sugar-tongs: to lift or grasp something using the utensil.
- She picked up the sugar cube with the sugar-tongs. (Action of using the utensil.)
Related Idioms
As delicate as sugar-tongs: a simile describing something handled with great care or precision.
- He handled the fragile vase as delicately as sugar-tongs. (Very carefully.)
Sugar-tongs etiquette: the proper manners associated with using the utensil in formal dining.
- Learning sugar-tongs etiquette was part of the finishing school curriculum. (Social rules for serving sugar.)