ironmongery

English[edit]

ironmongery (countable and uncountable, plural ironmongeries)

(dated, British, Ireland, uncountable) Tools and other hardware that can be bought in an ironmonger's shop.
- 1991, Stephen King, Needful Things:
  "He came in. He had a gun. He was crazy. You can see he was crazy; look what he did to Ricky. He thought Ricky was me. He wanted to steal my adjustables. Look."
  Sonny smiled and tilted the steel case so Henry could look at the jumble of rusty ironmongery inside.
(British, Ireland, uncountable) The trade of an ironmonger.
(British, Ireland, countable) An ironmonger's shop.
(slang, uncountable) The various metal items used by mountaineers.
- 1997, Pete McDonald, Climbing Lessons: Inside Outdoor Education, page 40:
  He also had a room strewn with the toys of the trade and what-have-you: ropes and ironmongery, buoyancy aid and bagpipes, fetid socks and half-eaten haggises, dumbbells and ski-instructor sweaters.
- 2011, Royal Geographical Society, The Alpine Club, Mountaineers: Great Tales of Bravery and Conquest, page 161:
  If, by using “ironmongery” – artificial climbing aids – you could overcome any challenge, where was the adventure?
- 2014, John White, The Indoor Climbing Manual, page 183:
  Bolts, pitons (pegs), slings and other assorted ironmongery were used for directly aided climbing.