Meaning & Analysis
I would not go near or physically touch him (or her, or it), even using an implement designed to keep things at a distance.
Insights
Extreme Aversion
The proverb metaphorically expresses a strong sense of disgust, aversion, or moral repulsion, indicating that someone or something is so objectionable as to be untouchable even at arm’s length.
Social and Moral Distancing
It also symbolizes the desire to avoid association or involvement with people, matters, or behaviors deemed corrupt, dangerous, or disreputable.
Caution Against Contamination
The saying alludes to a fear of contamination—physical, moral, or social—emphasizing the need for boundaries and the avoidance of harmful influence.
Intensifier of Disgust
The use of a 'pair of tongs' as an instrument of removal amplifies the degree of avoidance, marking the subject as exceptionally distasteful. Historically, such expressions targeted both the physically repellent and the socially ostracized.
Application Across Contexts
Originally used for people or things considered physically unclean or vile, the proverb broadened to include moral, reputational, or emotional aversions, illustrating the flexibility of figurative language.
Exclusion and Othering
The phrase underlines the mechanisms by which societies stigmatize or isolate the undesirable, reflecting deeper dynamics of exclusion, prejudice, and fear of the 'other.'
Comparison with Related Proverbs
Xref proverbs such as 'He will not come within forty foot of him' reinforce the notion of emphatic distancing, demonstrating the prevalence of exaggerated avoidance in proverbial speech.
Rhetorical Devices
Hyperbole
The exaggeration of refusing to touch someone even with a tool intensifies the emotional impact and vividly communicates extreme aversion.
Metonymy
The 'pair of tongs' stands for any tool of distancing, representing the larger concept of separation or avoidance.
Negation
The negative construction ('would not touch') forcefully establishes the speaker’s boundaries, creating a tone of emphatic exclusion.
Transcription
Quotations
Not to be handled with a paire of tongues.
Without a pair of tongues there’s no man will touch her.
A Nasty slut, a Draggle-tail, a Fusty Puss; the English of such a one say, That one would not touch her with a pair of Tongs.
We are scarce for touching of the poor ones that are left behind; no, not with a pair of tongs.
(I will not touch her with).
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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