on the anvil
In a state of discussion, formation, or preparation; not yet matured.
November 1 1711, William King, letter to Jonathan Swift I have several things on the anvil, and near finished, that perhaps might be useful if published
anvil
UK /ˈæn.vɪl/ US /ˈæn.vəl/
noun 5verb 1
Collocations
4ADJ.
beside, big, cool, dumb, inner, new, open, proportionable
VERB + ANVIL
bought, hammer, hits, iron, lamented, like, reposes, swims
ANVIL + NOUN
d, dread, sorrow, stirrup, unto, weaver's
PREP.
between, on, out, than, upon, with
Definitions
noun
1
A heavy iron block used in the blacksmithing trade as a surface upon which metal can be struck and shaped.
My heart is as an anvil unto sorrow, Which beats upon it like the Cyclops’ hammers […]
I saw a smith stand with his hammer, thus, The whilst his iron did on the anvil cool, With open mouth swallowing a tailor’s news […]
2
The incus bone in the middle ear.
3
A stone or other hard surface used by a bird for breaking the shells of snails.
4
The non-moving surface of a micrometer against which the item to be measured is placed.
5
A horizontal-topped mass of cloud, shaped like a blacksmith's anvil, that forms before a thunderstorm.
verb
1
To fashion on, or as if on, an anvil.
I Have anvil’d out this Iron Age, Which I commit, not to your patronage, But skill and Art […]
The Family Tang caus’d an Iron Pillar to be erected there of three Rods high, and of a proportionable thickness, Anvil’d out of an intire Piece.
Thesaurus
Synonyms
noun — the ossicle between the malleus and the stapes
Antonyms
Idioms & Phrases
between the hammer and the anvil
With the choice between two unpleasant or distasteful options; in a predicament or quandary.
Yet for a time the nation was again placed between the democracy of the levellers and the despotism of the Stuarts, — between the hammer and the anvil.
Example Bank
601
My heart is as an anvil unto sorrow, Which beats upon it like the Cyclops’ hammers […]
Wiktionary02
I saw a smith stand with his hammer, thus, The whilst his iron did on the anvil cool, With open mouth swallowing a tailor’s news […]
Wiktionary03
1794, William Blake, “The Tyger,” lines 15-16, What the anvil? what dread grasp / Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
Wiktionary04
I Have anvil’d out this Iron Age, Which I commit, not to your patronage, But skill and Art […]
Wiktionary05
The Family Tang caus’d an Iron Pillar to be erected there of three Rods high, and of a proportionable thickness, Anvil’d out of an intire Piece.
Wiktionary06
I never started a roguery, that did not come out of thy forge in a manner ready anvilled and hammered for execution […]
WiktionaryUsage Notes
i Register
In some senses, anvil is marked as figuratively. Watch for register when choosing this word.
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