A hammer with a claw on one end for pulling nails out of wood or other materials.
From claw (the pronged end) + hammer (the tool). A compound noun describing a tool with two distinct functions—the hammer head for driving nails and the claw for extracting them. One of the most basic and ancient tool designs.
The clawhammer is one of humanity's greatest tool designs because it combines two opposite functions (putting things in and pulling them out) into one elegant form. It's been essentially unchanged for centuries because it's already perfect!
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