fire-irons—utensils for a fireplace (as tongs, poker, and shovel):
- The floor was spotless; the grate and fire-irons were burnished bright, and the fire burnt clear.
Note: The compound does not correlate in meaning with the expression irons in the fire—(usually in the phrase “have many irons in the fire”) used of things requiring the attention at once:
- A few months ago I just had too many irons in the fire, and I hate that feeling. It was time to refocus some priorities…
firing-iron—an iron used in cauterizing a horse:
- When the farrier has made his firing-iron red hot in his forge, he applies the thinnest part to the horses skin.