Plural of pitchfork: a farming tool with a long handle and prongs used for lifting hay or straw, or (figuratively) symbolic of an angry mob demanding justice.
From 'pitch' (the prongs pitch or thrust) + 'fork.' The tool became iconic in European culture as a weapon of farmers rising up, particularly in medieval peasant revolts, giving it symbolic revolutionary meaning.
Pitchforks are iconic because they represent angry mobs in movies and history, but the real story is fascinating—farmers literally used their pitchforks as weapons during revolts because they already had them! It's become a symbol of grassroots anger.
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