Tommyn.¹

Brit.

/ˈtɒmi/, U.S.

/ˈtɑmi/

Forms: 1700s– Tommy, 1800s Tommey, 1800s– Tommie; also Scottish 1800s– Tammie, 1800s– Tammy. Also with lower-case initial.

Origin: From a proper name. Etymon: proper name Tommy.

Etymology: < Tommy, pet form of the male forename Thomas (see Thomas n.; compare -y suffix⁶).With sense 1 compare earlier molly n.¹ 2. In sense 2 after tomfool n.; compare earlier Tom n.¹ 1c. In sense 3 short for Tommy Atkins n. In the case of sense 4a, N.E.D. (1913) suggests that the coarse brown bread used in military rations was originally called Tommy Brown , and this later altered to brown Tommy and subsequently shortened to Tommy . However, evidence for Tommy Brown in this sense appears to be lacking, and brown Tommy , in the same sense, is only attested later. In sense 9 after Tom n.¹ 5; compare earlier Long Tom n. 2.

I. Senses referring to a person.

1. A woman who is romantically attracted to or sexually active with other women; a lesbian. historical and rare after 18th cent.Quot. 2004 is from a historical novel set in the late 18th cent.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual orientation > homosexuality > [noun] > a homosexual person > female

tribade1585

rubster1657

lesbian1732

Tommy1773

Sapphist1789

cunt-sucker1868

cunt lapper1916

lez1929

muff-diver1930

dyke1931

lesbo1931

lezzie?1939

freak1941

lezzo1941

Lizzie1949

lesbie1966

lezzer1966

rug muncher1981

Sapphic1985

carpet muncher1992

1773 Adulteress 26 Woman with Woman act the Manly Part, And kiss and press each other to the heart... I know a thousand Tommies 'mongst the Sex.

1777 Laughing Philosopher xvii. 91 Unnatural, unnatural, unnatural! Tommies, tommies, tommies!—Women kissing women.

1778 ‘Jack Cavendish’ Sapphick Epist. 3 She [sc. Sappho] was the first Tommy the world has upon record... There hath been many Tommies since.

1991 M. Duberman About Time 454 There were..two new categories of sexual orientation..—Mollies and Tommies (also known as sapphists).

2004 E. Donoghue Life Mask (2005) 478 There were two men standing on a bench, roaring it: ‘Tommies! Tommies!.. Filthy Sapphists!’

†2. A fool, a simpleton. Cf. tomfool n. 1b. Obsolete (English regional (northern) in later use).

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > order Charadriiformes > family Alcidae (auks) > [noun] > fratercula arctica (puffin)

scout1596

willock1606

bottlenose1620

parrot1664

sea-parrot1664

guldenhead1676

coulterneb1678

mullet1678

puffin1678

cockandy1684

sea-coulter1684

bowger1698

norie1701

tammie norie1701

popea1705

lunda1744

rock-bird1765

puffin-auk1768

tommy noddy1769

Tomnoddy1771

Tommya1777

Tomnorry1793

Tommy1828

sea-owl1842

the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupid, foolish, or inadequate person > foolish person, fool > fool, simpleton > [noun]

boinarda1300

daffc1325

goky1377

nicea1393

unwiseman1400

totc1425

alphinc1440

dawc1500

hoddypeak1500

dawpatea1529

hoddypolla1529

noddy1534

kimec1535

coxcomb1542

sheep1542

sheep's head1542

goose1547

dawcock1556

nodgecock1566

peak-goosea1568

hottie tottie?c1570

Tom Towly1582

wittol1588

goose-cap1589

nodgecomb1592

ninny1593

chicken1600

fopdoodle16..

hoddy-noddy1600

hoddy-doddy1601

peagoose1606

fopster1607

nazold1607

nupson1607

wigeon1607

fondrel1613

simpleton1639

pigwidgeon1640

simpletonian1652

Tony1654

nizy1673

Simple Simon?1673

Tom Farthing1674

totty-head1680

cockcomb1684

cod1699

nikin1699

sap-pate1699

simpkin1699

mackninnya1706

gilly-gaupus?1719

noodle1720

sapskull1735

gobbin?1746

Judy1781

zanya1784

spoony1795

sap-head1798

spoon1799

gomerel1814

sap1815

neddy1818

milestone1819

sunket1823

sunketa1825

gawp1825

gawpy1825

gawpus1826

Tomnoddy1826

Sammy1828

tammie norie1828

Tommy1828

gom1834

noodlehead1835

nowmun1854

gum-sucker1855

flat-head1862

peggy1869

noodledum1883

jay1884

toot1888

peanut head1891

simp1903

sappyhead1922

Arkie1927

putz1928

steamer1932

jerk-off1939

drongo1942

galah1945

Charley1946

nong-nong1959

mouth-breather1979

twonk1981

1828 Night Watch I. 204 We are positively looked upon as mere foplets, young Goths, or toothpicking tommies.

1828 W. L. Bowles Days Departed ii. 30 The tandem-driving Tommy of a town.

1847 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words Tommy,..2. A simple fellow.

1899 Leeds Mercury Weekly Suppl. 6 May 12/3 He's as big a Tommy as iver I knew.

3. colloquial. (A generic name for) a British private soldier; British private soldiers collectively. Cf. Tommy Atkins n.Now chiefly with reference to the First World War (1914–18); cf. Jerry n.³

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society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > common soldier > [noun] > British

Thomas Atkins1815

Tommy Atkins1850

Tommy1881

Thomas1888

Atkins1890

woodbine1918

1881 All Year Round 26 Mar. 541/2 We rode escorted by a very small, very active Kafir boy, and followed by a band of eager ‘Tommies’ who had obtained leave to join the expedition.

1884 R. Kipling in Civil & Mil. Gaz. 29 Sept. 3/4 (title of poem) The story of Tommy.

1898 Westm. Gaz. 26 Jan. 7/1 An occasional detachment of Tommies with the attendant coolies and sweepers.

1915 E. P. Malone Diary 12 May in J. Phillips et al. Great Adventure (1988) 47 The Tommies have christened my men [on Gallipoli] the ‘White Gurkhas’.

1917 A. G. Empey Over Top 308 There are three things in this world that Tommy loves: a slacker, a German, and a trench-rat.

1926 F. M. Ford Man could stand Up ii. 119 A Hun up against a Tommie looked like a Holbein lansknecht fighting a music-hall turn.

1978 J. Carroll Mortal Friends i. iv. 47 He saw a private soldier, not an RIC Auxiliary, but an honest to God Tommy.

2010 S. Bull Commando Tactics v. 90 The whole thing appears marginally less appetising than food eaten by Tommy in the trenches over two decades earlier.

II. Sense referring to bread, food, and other provisions.

a. British slang. Bread; a loaf of bread. Earliest in the language of sailors: bread as distinguished from ship's biscuit (chiefly with distinguishing word, as soft tommy, white tommy). Later (Military slang): coarse brown bread supplied to soldiers as rations; a loaf or roll of this (cf. Brown Tommy n. at brown adj. Compounds 2). Now only in general use (chiefly British regional): a loaf or roll of bread.

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the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > bread > [noun] > brown bread

brown bread1490

Tommy1788

1788 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (ed. 2) Tommy, Soft Tommy; bread is so called by sailors, to distinguish it from biscuit.

1795 G. Brewer Motto II. i. 39 Nice harbour, plenty of fresh beef and soft tommy.

1796 Grose's Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (ed. 3) (at cited word) Soft Tommy, or white Tommy; bread is so called by sailors, to distinguish it from biscuit.

1811 Lexicon Balatronicum (at cited word) Brown Tommy; ammunition bread for soldiers; or brown bread given to convicts at the hulks.

1825 J. T. Brockett Gloss. North Country Words Tommy, a little loaf. ‘A soldier's tommy’.

1830 W. Cobbett Rural Rides in Weekly Polit. Reg. 22 May 664 When I was a recruit at Chatham barracks, in the year 1783, we had brown bread served out to us twice in the week. And, for what reason God knows, we used to call it tommy... Any one that could get white bread, called it bread; but the brown stuff..was called tommy.

1836 E. Howard Rattlin, the Reefer (ed. 2) I. xiii. 162 The eighth portion of soft tommy and butter, with a bottle of porter, I made the servant leave on the table.

1846 J. M. MacMullen Camp & Barrack-room ii. 16 After I had breakfasted upon tommy and insipid coffee.

c1878 W. S. Gilbert H.M.S. Pinafore i. 4 I've treacle and toffy and excellent coffee, Soft tommy and succulent chops.

1890 Anent Old Edinb. 83 The pay [for militia service in the early 19th cent.] was 6d. a day and a coarse roll called a ‘tammie’.

1890 J. Brown Literæ Laureatæ 51 But somehow, boys they get a knack, And give the tommies such a bite.

1976 G. E. Campion Lincs. Dial. 52 Tommy, a loaf of bread. ‘We had better git another Tommy in caäse any company comes.’

1995 J. M. Sims-Kimbrey Wodds & Doggerybaw: Lincs. Dial. Dict. 315/2 Tommy, a loaf of bread; bakehouse made; i.e. bought, as opposed to home-made.

b. Chiefly British regional. More generally: food, esp. food taken by a worker, schoolchild, etc., to be consumed during the course of the day. Now rare except in compounds (see tommy bag n., tommy box n. at Compounds).

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the world > food and drink > food > meal > [noun] > light meal or snacks

nuncheonc1260

morsela1382

refection?a1439

mixtumc1490

bever1500

banquet1509

collation1525

snatch1570

beverage1577

a little something1577

anders-meat1598

four-hours1637

watering1637

refreshment1639

snap1642

luncheona1652

crib1652

prandicle1656

munchin1657

baita1661

unch1663

afternooning1678

whet1688

nacket1694

merenda1740

rinfresco1745

bagging?1746

snack1757

coffee1774

second breakfast1775

nummit1777

stay-stomach1800

damper1804

eleven o'clock1805

noonshine1808

by-bit1819

morning1819

four1823

four o'clock1825

lunch1829

stay-bit1833

picnic meal1839

elevens1849

Tommy1864

picnic tea1869

dinnerette1872

merienda1880

elevenses1887

light bite1887

soldier's supper1893

mug-up1902

tray1914

café complet1933

nosha1941

namkeen1942

snax1947

snackette1952

chaat1954

ploughman's lunch1957

munchie1959

playlunch1960

short-eat1962

lite bite1965

munchie1971

ploughman1975

aperitivo2002

1864 J. C. Hotten Slang Dict. (new ed.) Tommy, bread,—generally a penny roll. Sometimes applied by workmen to the supply of food which they carry..as their daily allowance.

1903 J. Lumsden Toorle v. viii. 125 Aw'm like the cats, Aw aye sing ma finest efter Aw've ta'en ma tammy.

1911 H. F. Rutter Let. to Editor 22 Oct. (O.E.D. Archive) Used in provincial dialects and invariably by English navvies as a synonym for food. ‘I was that bad I couldn't eat my tommy’. ‘Go into the stable and give that old horse his tommy’.

1937 L. Jones Cwmardy vii. 115 That will do for now. Let's go back and get a bit of tommy.

c. New Zealand and Australian. More fully spotted Tommy. (a) A type of steamed pudding containing currants (cf. Spotted Dick n. 1). (b) A type of sweet bread baked with currants and sugar (cf. brownie n.² 1). Now rare.

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the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > puddings > [noun] > sweet or fruit puddings

white pudding1588

quaking puddinga1665

apple pudding1708

cowslip pudding1723

plum pudding1811

roly-poly pudding1821

black cap1822

amber pudding1829

bird's nest pudding1829

slump1831

Bakewell pudding1833

roly-poly1835

dog in a (or the) blanket1842

castle pudding1845

ice pudding1846

pan pie1846

dick1849

roll-up1856

canary pudding1861

roly1861

treacle pud1861

Brown Betty1864

summer pudding1875

parfait1884

schalet1884

Sally Lunn pudding1892

Tommy1895

queen of puddings1903

layer-pudding1909

clafoutis1926

shrikhand1950

chocolate fondant1971

mud-pie1975

tiramisu1982

lava cake1994

the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > bread > [noun] > other types of bread

sergeant-loafa1348

clear-matin1362

bean-breadc1380

French bread1420

pease-breada1425

bran-breadc1425

grey breadc1430

angels' breadc1440

dough bread?a1500

baker's bread?1550

acorn bread1571

cart-bread1574

chapter-bread1600

diet-bread1617

ember-bread1681

buff coat1688

bust-coat1706

Picentine bread1712

chestnut-bread1814

naan1828

gluten-bread1846

to-bread1854

batch-bread1862

injera1868

coffee cake1879

pan dulce1882

quick bread1882

sour bread1884

Tommy1895

focaccia1905

hard-dough bread1911

hush puppy1918

potica1927

spoon bread1932

bake1933

pitta1936

hard-dough1966

pain de campagne1970

pocket bread1973

ciabatta1985

pain au levain1985

levain1991

1895 Evening Post (Wellington, N.Z.) 11 Dec. Dock Tart. Fuchsia Berry Pie. Spotted Tommy.

1913 A. Bathgate Sodger Sandy's Bairn 148 A piece of home-made bread with currants in it, commonly called ‘spotted Tommy’... It will make the ‘tommy’ taste of tobacco.

1918 Chrons. N.Z.E.F. 30 Aug. 61 I crept out at daylight with only a chunk of ham and ‘spotted Tommy’ in my pocket.

1945 S. J. Baker Austral. Lang. ii. iv. 80 The tommy..is mixed in the same way as the damper with the addition of sugar, currants and fat.

a. Goods, provisions; esp. provisions supplied to workers as payment instead of money under the truck system (truck n.¹ 2). Also: the truck system itself. Now historical.

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the world > food and drink > food > supply of food or provisions > [noun] > supplied to workmen

Tommy1822

1822 Wolverhampton Chron. 24 Apr. That of which they most bitterly complain, and are most decidedly opposed to, is receiving in what they call Tommy or Truck, at an exorbitant rate of profit to their employers, that which ought to be paid them in money.

1845 B. Disraeli Sybil II. iii. iii. 39 What are you doing here, little dear?; very young to fetch tommy.

1860 Slang Dict. Tommy, a truck, barter, the exchange of labour for goods, not money.

1926 Illustr. London News 26 June 1150/3 The most sinful wages in the whole drama were those which were paid in ‘tommy’.

1980 G. J. Barnsby Social Conditions in Black Country ii. 29 Banks, the coalmaster, of Bilston..paid every two weeks and this in tommy.

†b. A shop in which vouchers given to employees instead of wages may be exchanged for goods; = tommy shop n. at Compounds. Obsolete. rare.

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society > trade and finance > trading place > place where retail transactions made > [noun] > shop > shop where vouchers may be used

tommy shop1822

Tommy1845

truck-shop1845

truck-store1886

1845 B. Disraeli Sybil II. iii. i. 8 Diggs' tommy is only open once a-week.

III. Senses referring to an object or substance.

†6. English regional. More fully tommy spade. A small, flat spade with sharp edges, used esp. in excavating underground drains. Obsolete.

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the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > [noun] > spade > small spade

spittlea1100

spittle-staff12..

spitter1600

spaddle1669

spattle1824

Tommya1825

a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) Tommy, a small spade to excavate the narrow bottoms of under-drains.

1834 Irish Farmer's & Gardener's Mag. July 449 The workman stretches a line to guide him in cutting one side with a tool called a ‘Tommy spade’.—This spade is heart-shaped, and quite flat..; the shaft is about twenty-four inches long.

1859 S. Smiles Story of Life George Stephenson (new ed.) xi. 187 Men and boys were employed to skin the Moss..by means of sharp spades, called by the turf-cutters ‘tommy-spades’.

7. A short bar or stout pin that can be inserted into a hole in a box spanner or screw to assist in turning it; = tommy bar n. at Compounds. Now rare.

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society > occupation and work > equipment > screwdrivers, wrenches, spanners > [noun] > spanner or wrench > bar for use with

Tommy1843

tommy bar1890

1843 J. J. Greer Brit. Patent 9811 (1856) 2 My invention..consists..first, in working a double screw..from a central axis into two separate boxes or cases, either by a lever commonly called a tommy, or by a spanner.

1881 P. N. Hasluck Lathe Work 179 Hooked tommys are employed to actuate all those capstan headed screws and nuts which from insufficiency in the depth of the holes do not afford a hold for the ordinary straight forward tommy.

1933 R. A. Freeman Dr. Thorndyke Intervenes xvii. 258 A nice convenient vault..where he could get at it easily with a big skeleton key and a tommy to turn it with.

†8. Chiefly more fully soft tommy. Soft lead or pewter solder. Obsolete.

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the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > jewellery > making jewellery or setting with jewels > [noun] > jeweller's materials

tent1594

using stone1688

Tommy1877

piping1881

1877 G. E. Gee Pract. Gold-worker 137 ‘Soft solder’..commonly called in the jewellery trade ‘soft tommy’.

1878 Fun 9 Oct. 147/1 The professional plumber..seems to have a rather too plummy idea of the value of lead and pewter and ‘soft tommy’.

1907 Model Engineer & Electrician 13 June 562/2 The shell and end plates..had been caulked with soft solder. The said ‘soft tommy’ in the heat of the moment had yielded to the pressure of circumstances.

1912 A. Ballard Let. to Sir James Murray 24 Oct. (O.E.D. Archive) Tommy or Soft tommy..means the ordinary lead or pewter solder that is in common use for repairing Britannia metal or lead articles.

†9. A kind of long wooden trough used for washing gold-bearing material in order to separate out the gold; = Tom n.¹ 5. Obsolete. rare.

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society > occupation and work > equipment > equipment for treating ores > [noun] > for washing ore > for gold

scour1619

rocker1828

cradle1833

pan1835

Long Tom1839

Tom1839

wash-bowl1848

gold washer1849

sluice1851

wash-pan1851

tub1853

gold pan1854

mining pan1858

pan mill1869

Tommy1892

1892 Pall Mall Gaz. 10 Aug. 2/1 At the end of the tiny creek, where a ‘tommy’ was..set in motion to wash the alluvial soil and extract the tiny glittering particles of gold.

Compounds

tommy bag n. a bag in which a worker or schoolchild carries a packed lunch or other meal.

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the world > food and drink > food > container for food > [noun] > container for provisions

provision basket1770

sandwich case1815

tommy bag1843

lunchbox1862

bait-poke1863

teabag1898

brown bag1947

tiffin-carrier1960

tea-box1972

1843 Bristol Mercury 23 Sept. 7/3 He picked up the tommy bag..on the other side of Newport.

1983 P. Nash Coup de Grass ii. 23 He was wearing overalls and carrying a canvas tommy-bag.

2006 Countryman Dec. 68/1 His cap is pulled low to his eyes, a tommy bag swings from his shoulder.

tommy bar n. Mechanics a short bar or stout pin that can be inserted into a hole in a nut, screw, vice, box spanner, etc., to assist in turning it; = sense 7.

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society > occupation and work > equipment > screwdrivers, wrenches, spanners > [noun] > spanner or wrench > bar for use with

Tommy1843

tommy bar1890

1890 Iron 13 Mar. 225/1 The workman does not have to stop frequently to reach his hammer and drive in the mandril, nor to fumble with the tommy bar in the mandril head.

1930 Engineering 25 Apr. 538/1 The cylinder is removed bodily from its supporting bracket, by unscrewing a hinged fixing pillar by means of a tommy bar.

1973 D. Lees Rape of Quiet Town vii. 121 He fixed each jack separately..then gave the tommy bars a few..twists until they were tight.

2009 Pretoria News (Nexis) 16 Mar. 1 Five men lost their diving gear, pick handles and a tommy bar in December because they used it to poach abalone.

tommy book n. now historical an account book of goods supplied on the tommy or truck system (see sense 5a).

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society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > account or statement of > [noun] > account book > other types of account book

journal1540

bankers' book1585

shop book?1594

waste-book1613

cash-book1622

counter-book1622

pay-book1622

copybook1660

audit-booka1680

bankbook1682

transfer-book1694

malt-book1710

pay list1757

petty cash book1827

passbook1833

stock book1835

guard book1839

tommy book1841

bought-book1849

in-clearing book1872

out-clearing book1882

out-book1884

trial-book1890

1841 Hampshire Advertiser 4 Sept. He looked up and saw the prisoner drop a ‘tommy book’ (a book in which the accounts of dockmen are kept) from his hand.

1845 B. Disraeli Sybil II. iii. i. 7 You know as how Juggins applied for his balance after his tommy-book was paid up.

1966 Scots Mag. Sept. 526 What the housewife did not pay against her ‘tammy-book’, the man spent in the beer store.

tommy box n. now historical a container in which a worker's or schoolchild's food is stored; esp. a box or tin used to carry a packed lunch or other meal to work or school.

ΚΠ

1856 Househ. Words 21 June 546/1 Against the wall were fixed a double row of cupboards or lockers, one to each man; these were the tommy-boxes.

1891 Leeds Mercury 12 Jan. 8/5 Every one could not carry a Marshal's baton in his ‘tommy-box’ as he went to work.

1996 J. Grenfell-Hill Growing up in Wales 56 There were mice galore, plenty of mice. They couldn't get at my food because I had it in a Tommy-box made of tin.

Tommy cooker n. (also Tommy's cooker) Military slang (now historical) a small portable spirit stove; (also) any device improvised or adapted to serve as a stove.

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the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > stove or cooker > [noun]

range1423

buccan1611

fire-range1668

stew-stove1727

screw-range1772

stew-hole1780

cooking stove1796

range stove1803

cooking range1805

cookstove1820

kitchener1829

gas range1853

cooker1860

gas cooker1873

Soyer's stove1878

hay-box1885

blazer1889

machine oven1890

paraffin stove1891

primus1893

electric cooker1894

electric range1894

Yukon stove1898

fireless cooker1904

picnic stove1910

pressure stove1914

Tommy cooker1915

rangette1922

Aga1931

barbecue1931

Rayburn1947

sigri1949

jiko1973

1915 Evening News 23 Feb. 8/4 Called ‘Tommy's Cooker,’ it is a compact little tin, with an extension on which a kettle or bully beef tin can easily be balanced.

1919 N.Y. Times 23 Feb. iv. 12/2 When 4 o'clock came around every man-jack of us would take out his Tommy-cooker and begin making his tea... It's a bit of a burlap bag, rolled up very tight and soaked in fat or candle grease.

1948 A. Baron From City, from Plough xviii. 165 On the little tommy-cookers that they sheltered between their feet they brewed..tea in their mess-tins.

2013 J. Jacobs From Imjin to Hook vi. 91 It all seemed eerily quiet as I heated a breakfast can of C rations on my Tommy's Cooker.

† tommy day n. Obsolete a day on which a tommy shop (tommy shop n.) is open.

ΚΠ

1843 Midland Mining Comm.: 1st Rep. p. xc, in Parl. Papers XIII. 1 The tommy days are on a Friday in some fields and other days in others, and if any gentleman was to go about eight or nine o'clock he would see crowds of poor women standing.

1845 B. Disraeli Sybil II. iii. iii. 40 It's grand tommy-day you know.

1859 D. Bailey Truck Syst. x. 19 When the ‘tommy-day’ comes round there may be sickness in the family.

† Tommy Dodd n. (also Tommy Dod) Obsolete the odd man out in a game in which three people toss coins, considered the winner or loser according to previously agreed rules; the game of coin-tossing itself (cf. odd man out n. (b) at odd man n. Compounds, odd man wins n. at odd man n. Compounds).

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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > two up, etc. > [noun]

Tommy Dodd1865

odd man wins1884

two-up1898

swy1940

swy game1950

1865 J. C. Hotten Slang Dict. (ed. 3) 259 Tommy Dodd, in tossing when the odd man goes out.

1870 A. Steinmetz Gaming Table II. 221 Not long ago a returned tradesman..allowed himself to be induced to play at Tommy Dodd with two low sharpers.

1884 Punch 16 Feb. 73/2 A gambling game known as ‘Tommy Dod’ is extensively practised.

tommy hole n. a hole in a nut, collar piece, box spanner, etc., into which a steel pin or tommy bar can be inserted to turn it.

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society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > nut > part of nut

tommy hole1864

1864 D. K. Clark Exhib. Machinery 1862 175/1 The plate rests on three screws with spherical heads, having ‘tommy holes’, by means of which the plate may be levelled with accuracy.

1897 A. C. Pemberton Compl. Cyclist 125 The head nut, which could be made with a milled edge, and with tommy holes to start it if stuck beyond finger power.

1988 Brit. Patent 2,200,681 5 The locking ring is circular and is provided with tommy holes in order to facilitate tightening.

tommy-long-legs n. English regional (north-eastern and east midlands) and Irish English (northern) a crane fly (family Tipulidae); = daddy-long-legs n. 2.

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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Diptera or flies > [noun] > suborder Nematocera > family Tipulidae > member of (crane-fly)

crane-fly1658

harry-long-legs1676

tailor1682

long legs1721

father-long-legs1742

Tipula1752

tommy-long-legs1800

Tom Tailor1800

meadow crane fly1813

jenny-spinner1817

daddy-long-legs1829

spinner-fly1848

granddaddy-long-legs1858

tipulid1893

1800 W. Stickney Observ. respecting Grub 5 The Fly produced from the Grub in question, is known by the common names of Tom Taylor, Tommy Long-Legs, or Father Longlegs.

1885 Leeds Mercury Weekly Suppl. 19 Sept. Once saw a ‘Tommy Long-legs’ entangled in a spider's web.

1970 H. Orton & P. M. Tilling Surv. Eng. Dial. III. ii. 520 Q[uestion]. What do you call those insects with small thin bodies and thin legs, that fly up and down the window-pane? [Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire] Tommy-long-legs.

1996 C. I. Macafee Conc. Ulster Dict. 360/2 Tammy long-legs, a cranefly.., also known as a daddy-long-legs.

2013 @Ellieconnolly18 9 June in twitter.com (O.E.D. Archive) Why is there all of a sudden an infestation of tommy long legs?

† tommy master n. Obsolete an employer who pays workers in goods or in vouchers for goods instead of money; = truck-master n. (b) at truck n.¹ Compounds 2; cf. sense 5a.

ΚΠ

1829 Leicester Chron. 24 Oct. One of the Tommy masters having some little conscience remaining, puts on a moderate profit on his goods of, say from seven to ten per cent.

1850 Daily News 21 Mar. 3/5 The tommy masters had only to increase their prices 7½ per cent. to reduce wages 5 per cent.

1872 Leisure Hour 5 Oct. 638/2 The poor serfs are most favourably placed for the operations of the ‘tommy’ master.

tommy plough n. English regional (East Anglian) a double-breasted plough; = tom-plough n. at Tom n.¹ Compounds 1a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > ploughing equipment > [noun] > plough > double mould-board plough

strike plough1789

tommy plough1814

tom-plough1833

strike-furrow plough1846

lister1887

1814 Bury & Norwich Post 5 Oct. Dead Stock..5 foot and tommy ploughs, 3 gangs of harrows, 3 rolls, long and short ladders, [etc.].

1849 W. Raynbird & H. Raynbird On Agric. Suffolk vi. 301 The tom or tommy plough is a plough with a double breast for ridging, or for clearing out furrows.

1948 Outdoor Salad Crops (Ministry Agric. & Fisheries, Bull. No. 55) (ed. 4) 25 Either an ordinary plough or a double-breasted or ‘tommy’ plough.

tommy rough n. (a) English regional (north-eastern) the ruffe, Gymnocephalus cernuus (rare); (b) Australian (southern) the Australian herring, Arripis georgianus (family Arripidae), a small, edible, rough-scaled fish found in coastal waters of southern Australia (also called roughy).With sense (b) cf. tommy ruff n. With sense (a) cf. tommy ruffe n.

ΚΠ

1877 Fishing Gaz. 27 July 11/1 The Keadby canal abounds with ‘Tommy Roughs’. These small fry take down the float with all the force of a 20lb. salmon.

1886 J. F. Conigrave S. Austral. 166 The popular opinion in favour of the ‘snook’ and ‘tommy rough’ is well grounded.

1906 Hist. & Sci. Surv. York & District 334 Ruffe... (Acerina cernua).—Locally known as Tommy Rough, Tommy Parsee, and Pope.

1923 E. R. Waite Fishes S. Austral. 9 By the name of ‘Tommy Rough’ it would be unknown outside Australia.

1970 L. Wedlick What Fish is That? 37 Ruff Arripis georgianus..called Tommy Rough in South Australia, Sea Herring in Western Australia, and Roughy in Victoria.

2009 Sunday Mail (S. Austral.) (Nexis) 10 May 85 Tommy roughs are making a strong comeback in Gulf waters.

tommy ruff n. Australian the tommy rough or Australian herring, Arripis georgianus.

ΚΠ

1888 W. H. Bundey Reminisc. Twenty-five Years' Yachting in Austral. 32 Salmon, tommy ruff, and snapper.

1951 G. Farwell Outside Track 105 You can live well here on crayfish, whiting, mackerel, yellowtail and tommy ruff.

1998 P. Gwynne Deadly Unna? xxvi. 177 I got..a bag of tommy ruffs from the freezer for bait, and set off for the jetty.

2016 Advertiser (Austral.) (Nexis) 10 Apr. 66 Did you stop to breathe in the sea air and gaze into depths where you may have seen shoals of tommy ruffs darting through the sea grass?

tommy ruffe n. (also tommy ruff) English regional (Yorkshire) (now rare) the ruffe, Gymnocephalus cernuus; = tommy rough n. (a).

ΚΠ

1846 ‘P. Hackle’ Hints on Angling ii. 68 The Pope or Ruffe... Walton calls this fish the Ruffe-Perch; and it is known to all the school-boys in England under the familiar appellation of the ‘Tommy Ruffe’.

1874 E. S. Dallas Once a Week 23 June 524/2 [A] little fish, about three inches long, apparently a cross between a loose-minded perch and a wanton gudgeon. ‘Yow! he's nobbut a Tommy Ruff’.

1974 K. Smith Pop. Brit. Freshwater Fish 23 Ruffe... are appreciated more in some areas than others and they often have local names—cocky ruffe in Norfolk and tommy ruffe in Yorkshire, for example.

2007 Scarborough Evening News (Nexis) 29 Aug. A roach of 1lb 11oz plus 2 gudgeon and 2 tommy ruffe on single maggot.

tommy shop n. now historical a shop in which vouchers given to employees instead of wages may be exchanged for goods; = truck-shop n. at truck n.¹ Compounds 2; cf. sense 5a.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > trading place > place where retail transactions made > [noun] > shop > shop where vouchers may be used

tommy shop1822

Tommy1845

truck-shop1845

truck-store1886

1822 Manch. Guardian 18 May What are termed ‘the Tommy shops’, are to be abolished, the men will receive their earnings in money.

1882 Standard 26 Dec. 2/3 The ‘foggers’, or ‘Tommy shop’ men, live lives of contentment,..at the expense of the poor nail-workers.

1882 Brechin Advertiser 26 Dec. 3 A' 'at wis ower payin' the tammie shop wis spent on drink.

1996 J. Barnes Cross Channel 25 He also recognised weakness where he saw it, and wouldn't allow tommy-shops, or let travelling beer-sellers trade amongst his men.

tommy system n. now historical the system or practice of paying wages in goods or vouchers instead of money; = truck system n. at truck n.¹ Compounds 1a; cf. sense 5a.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > wage structures and scales > [noun] > wage-system > specific

tut1800

tommy system1829

truck system1830

truck principle1837

time wage1840

time payment1852

trip system1894

tot system1926

1829 Leicester Chron. 24 Oct. The situation of the labourer, or operative, under the Tommy system.

1869 Birmingham Daily Post 8 Sept. 3/4 Another great evil in their district was the ‘tommy’ system among the chartermasters.

2014 B. Elliott Tracing Coalmining Ancestors i. 36 The truck or ‘Tommy’ system was widespread in some areas.

Tommy Talker n. colloquial (now chiefly historical) a kazoo.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > entertainment > toy or plaything > toy instruments > [noun]

mirliton1819

hewgag1850

squawker1874

squeaker1878

Tommy Talker1883

kazoo1884

society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > other musical instruments > [noun] > kazoo

mirliton1819

hewgag1850

bazoo1877

Tommy Talker1883

kazoo1884

eunuch flute1928

1883 Sheffield & Rotherham Independent 9 Jan. 2/4 The artists engaged in the scene render the ‘Turkish Patrol’ on ‘Tommy Talkers’, shaped like culinary and other articles.

1976 S. Barstow Right True End i. iii. 38 Learn the piano... Well, the french horn, clarinet, fiddle, trombone; mouth-organ, jew's harp, tommy-talker.

1994 J. Burnett Idle Hands vi. 240 One curious phenomenon was the formation of ‘gazoot’ (or ‘kazoo’) jazz bands by the unemployed, sometimes known as ‘Tommy Talker’ bands.

† Tommy Touchwood n. Obsolete rare a children's chasing game in which players must touch something made of wood as a means of becoming ‘safe’ from being caught; = tiggy touchwood at tiggy n.¹

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > hiding or chasing game > [noun] > tag

tick1622

hide-and-seek1724

tag1738

tig1816

touch-last1825

touch1828

widdy widdy way1832

touch and run1844

tiggy1845

widdy1859

Tommy Touchwood1876

pom-pom-pull-away1883

pull-away1883

squat tag1883

stoop tag1898

he1900

it1969

shadow tag1969

1876 M. E. Braddon Joshua Haggard's Daughter I. ix. 286 The children playing Tommy Touchwood under the chestnuts.

Derivatives

ˈtommyhood n. now rare (in various occasional uses) the state or condition of being ‘Tommy’ or a ‘Tommy’; see also quot. 1832.In quots. 1857, 1902: the state of being a young boy, boyhood (‘Tommy’ being a typical familiar name for a young boy).In quot. 1935: the state of being an adult cat (cf. Tom n.¹ 4a, tomcat n. 1).

ΚΠ

1832 Age 4 Nov. 357/3 At this dinner the twofold Tommyhood of modern poetry [i.e. Thomas Campbell and Thomas Moore] were severally anxious.

1857 J. Miller Alcohol (1858) 66 (note) The razor is kept from Tommy in his Tommyhood.

1902 Cornhill Mag. Oct. 550 The poor little slum gamin, whose end is so often tragic, enjoys his abbreviated Tommyhood as much as any.

1935 Moulton (Iowa) Weekly Tribune 11 Apr. At the Jim Sparks farm there is an old hen that has taken unto herself the job of rearing to Tommyhood four small kittens.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	tommy
释义	Tommyn.¹ Brit. /ˈtɒmi/, U.S. /ˈtɑmi/ Forms: 1700s– Tommy, 1800s Tommey, 1800s– Tommie; also Scottish 1800s– Tammie, 1800s– Tammy. Also with lower-case initial. Origin: From a proper name. Etymon: proper name Tommy. Etymology: < Tommy, pet form of the male forename Thomas (see Thomas n.; compare -y suffix⁶).With sense 1 compare earlier molly n.¹ 2. In sense 2 after tomfool n.; compare earlier Tom n.¹ 1c. In sense 3 short for Tommy Atkins n. In the case of sense 4a, N.E.D. (1913) suggests that the coarse brown bread used in military rations was originally called Tommy Brown , and this later altered to brown Tommy and subsequently shortened to Tommy . However, evidence for Tommy Brown in this sense appears to be lacking, and brown Tommy , in the same sense, is only attested later. In sense 9 after Tom n.¹ 5; compare earlier Long Tom n. 2. I. Senses referring to a person. 1. A woman who is romantically attracted to or sexually active with other women; a lesbian. historical and rare after 18th cent.Quot. 2004 is from a historical novel set in the late 18th cent. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual orientation > homosexuality > [noun] > a homosexual person > female tribade1585 rubster1657 lesbian1732 Tommy1773 Sapphist1789 cunt-sucker1868 cunt lapper1916 lez1929 muff-diver1930 dyke1931 lesbo1931 lezzie?1939 freak1941 lezzo1941 Lizzie1949 lesbie1966 lezzer1966 rug muncher1981 Sapphic1985 carpet muncher1992 1773 Adulteress 26 Woman with Woman act the Manly Part, And kiss and press each other to the heart... I know a thousand Tommies 'mongst the Sex. 1777 Laughing Philosopher xvii. 91 Unnatural, unnatural, unnatural! Tommies, tommies, tommies!—Women kissing women. 1778 ‘Jack Cavendish’ Sapphick Epist. 3 She [sc. Sappho] was the first Tommy the world has upon record... There hath been many Tommies since. 1991 M. Duberman About Time 454 There were..two new categories of sexual orientation..—Mollies and Tommies (also known as sapphists). 2004 E. Donoghue Life Mask (2005) 478 There were two men standing on a bench, roaring it: ‘Tommies! Tommies!.. Filthy Sapphists!’ †2. A fool, a simpleton. Cf. tomfool n. 1b. Obsolete (English regional (northern) in later use). ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > order Charadriiformes > family Alcidae (auks) > [noun] > fratercula arctica (puffin) scout1596 willock1606 bottlenose1620 parrot1664 sea-parrot1664 guldenhead1676 coulterneb1678 mullet1678 puffin1678 cockandy1684 sea-coulter1684 bowger1698 norie1701 tammie norie1701 popea1705 lunda1744 rock-bird1765 puffin-auk1768 tommy noddy1769 Tomnoddy1771 Tommya1777 Tomnorry1793 Tommy1828 sea-owl1842 the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupid, foolish, or inadequate person > foolish person, fool > fool, simpleton > [noun] boinarda1300 daffc1325 goky1377 nicea1393 unwiseman1400 totc1425 alphinc1440 dawc1500 hoddypeak1500 dawpatea1529 hoddypolla1529 noddy1534 kimec1535 coxcomb1542 sheep1542 sheep's head1542 goose1547 dawcock1556 nodgecock1566 peak-goosea1568 hottie tottie?c1570 Tom Towly1582 wittol1588 goose-cap1589 nodgecomb1592 ninny1593 chicken1600 fopdoodle16.. hoddy-noddy1600 hoddy-doddy1601 peagoose1606 fopster1607 nazold1607 nupson1607 wigeon1607 fondrel1613 simpleton1639 pigwidgeon1640 simpletonian1652 Tony1654 nizy1673 Simple Simon?1673 Tom Farthing1674 totty-head1680 cockcomb1684 cod1699 nikin1699 sap-pate1699 simpkin1699 mackninnya1706 gilly-gaupus?1719 noodle1720 sapskull1735 gobbin?1746 Judy1781 zanya1784 spoony1795 sap-head1798 spoon1799 gomerel1814 sap1815 neddy1818 milestone1819 sunket1823 sunketa1825 gawp1825 gawpy1825 gawpus1826 Tomnoddy1826 Sammy1828 tammie norie1828 Tommy1828 gom1834 noodlehead1835 nowmun1854 gum-sucker1855 flat-head1862 peggy1869 noodledum1883 jay1884 toot1888 peanut head1891 simp1903 sappyhead1922 Arkie1927 putz1928 steamer1932 jerk-off1939 drongo1942 galah1945 Charley1946 nong-nong1959 mouth-breather1979 twonk1981 1828 Night Watch I. 204 We are positively looked upon as mere foplets, young Goths, or toothpicking tommies. 1828 W. L. Bowles Days Departed ii. 30 The tandem-driving Tommy of a town. 1847 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words Tommy,..2. A simple fellow. 1899 Leeds Mercury Weekly Suppl. 6 May 12/3 He's as big a Tommy as iver I knew. 3. colloquial. (A generic name for) a British private soldier; British private soldiers collectively. Cf. Tommy Atkins n.Now chiefly with reference to the First World War (1914–18); cf. Jerry n.³ ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > common soldier > [noun] > British Thomas Atkins1815 Tommy Atkins1850 Tommy1881 Thomas1888 Atkins1890 woodbine1918 1881 All Year Round 26 Mar. 541/2 We rode escorted by a very small, very active Kafir boy, and followed by a band of eager ‘Tommies’ who had obtained leave to join the expedition. 1884 R. Kipling in Civil & Mil. Gaz. 29 Sept. 3/4 (title of poem) The story of Tommy. 1898 Westm. Gaz. 26 Jan. 7/1 An occasional detachment of Tommies with the attendant coolies and sweepers. 1915 E. P. Malone Diary 12 May in J. Phillips et al. Great Adventure (1988) 47 The Tommies have christened my men [on Gallipoli] the ‘White Gurkhas’. 1917 A. G. Empey Over Top 308 There are three things in this world that Tommy loves: a slacker, a German, and a trench-rat. 1926 F. M. Ford Man could stand Up ii. 119 A Hun up against a Tommie looked like a Holbein lansknecht fighting a music-hall turn. 1978 J. Carroll Mortal Friends i. iv. 47 He saw a private soldier, not an RIC Auxiliary, but an honest to God Tommy. 2010 S. Bull Commando Tactics v. 90 The whole thing appears marginally less appetising than food eaten by Tommy in the trenches over two decades earlier. II. Sense referring to bread, food, and other provisions. 4. a. British slang. Bread; a loaf of bread. Earliest in the language of sailors: bread as distinguished from ship's biscuit (chiefly with distinguishing word, as soft tommy, white tommy). Later (Military slang): coarse brown bread supplied to soldiers as rations; a loaf or roll of this (cf. Brown Tommy n. at brown adj. Compounds 2). Now only in general use (chiefly British regional): a loaf or roll of bread. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > bread > [noun] > brown bread brown bread1490 Tommy1788 1788 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (ed. 2) Tommy, Soft Tommy; bread is so called by sailors, to distinguish it from biscuit. 1795 G. Brewer Motto II. i. 39 Nice harbour, plenty of fresh beef and soft tommy. 1796 Grose's Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (ed. 3) (at cited word) Soft Tommy, or white Tommy; bread is so called by sailors, to distinguish it from biscuit. 1811 Lexicon Balatronicum (at cited word) Brown Tommy; ammunition bread for soldiers; or brown bread given to convicts at the hulks. 1825 J. T. Brockett Gloss. North Country Words Tommy, a little loaf. ‘A soldier's tommy’. 1830 W. Cobbett Rural Rides in Weekly Polit. Reg. 22 May 664 When I was a recruit at Chatham barracks, in the year 1783, we had brown bread served out to us twice in the week. And, for what reason God knows, we used to call it tommy... Any one that could get white bread, called it bread; but the brown stuff..was called tommy. 1836 E. Howard Rattlin, the Reefer (ed. 2) I. xiii. 162 The eighth portion of soft tommy and butter, with a bottle of porter, I made the servant leave on the table. 1846 J. M. MacMullen Camp & Barrack-room ii. 16 After I had breakfasted upon tommy and insipid coffee. c1878 W. S. Gilbert H.M.S. Pinafore i. 4 I've treacle and toffy and excellent coffee, Soft tommy and succulent chops. 1890 Anent Old Edinb. 83 The pay [for militia service in the early 19th cent.] was 6d. a day and a coarse roll called a ‘tammie’. 1890 J. Brown Literæ Laureatæ 51 But somehow, boys they get a knack, And give the tommies such a bite. 1976 G. E. Campion Lincs. Dial. 52 Tommy, a loaf of bread. ‘We had better git another Tommy in caäse any company comes.’ 1995 J. M. Sims-Kimbrey Wodds & Doggerybaw: Lincs. Dial. Dict. 315/2 Tommy, a loaf of bread; bakehouse made; i.e. bought, as opposed to home-made. b. Chiefly British regional. More generally: food, esp. food taken by a worker, schoolchild, etc., to be consumed during the course of the day. Now rare except in compounds (see tommy bag n., tommy box n. at Compounds). ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > meal > [noun] > light meal or snacks nuncheonc1260 morsela1382 refection?a1439 mixtumc1490 bever1500 banquet1509 collation1525 snatch1570 beverage1577 a little something1577 anders-meat1598 four-hours1637 watering1637 refreshment1639 snap1642 luncheona1652 crib1652 prandicle1656 munchin1657 baita1661 unch1663 afternooning1678 whet1688 nacket1694 merenda1740 rinfresco1745 bagging?1746 snack1757 coffee1774 second breakfast1775 nummit1777 stay-stomach1800 damper1804 eleven o'clock1805 noonshine1808 by-bit1819 morning1819 four1823 four o'clock1825 lunch1829 stay-bit1833 picnic meal1839 elevens1849 Tommy1864 picnic tea1869 dinnerette1872 merienda1880 elevenses1887 light bite1887 soldier's supper1893 mug-up1902 tray1914 café complet1933 nosha1941 namkeen1942 snax1947 snackette1952 chaat1954 ploughman's lunch1957 munchie1959 playlunch1960 short-eat1962 lite bite1965 munchie1971 ploughman1975 aperitivo2002 1864 J. C. Hotten Slang Dict. (new ed.) Tommy, bread,—generally a penny roll. Sometimes applied by workmen to the supply of food which they carry..as their daily allowance. 1903 J. Lumsden Toorle v. viii. 125 Aw'm like the cats, Aw aye sing ma finest efter Aw've ta'en ma tammy. 1911 H. F. Rutter Let. to Editor 22 Oct. (O.E.D. Archive) Used in provincial dialects and invariably by English navvies as a synonym for food. ‘I was that bad I couldn't eat my tommy’. ‘Go into the stable and give that old horse his tommy’. 1937 L. Jones Cwmardy vii. 115 That will do for now. Let's go back and get a bit of tommy. c. New Zealand and Australian. More fully spotted Tommy. (a) A type of steamed pudding containing currants (cf. Spotted Dick n. 1). (b) A type of sweet bread baked with currants and sugar (cf. brownie n.² 1). Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > puddings > [noun] > sweet or fruit puddings white pudding1588 quaking puddinga1665 apple pudding1708 cowslip pudding1723 plum pudding1811 roly-poly pudding1821 black cap1822 amber pudding1829 bird's nest pudding1829 slump1831 Bakewell pudding1833 roly-poly1835 dog in a (or the) blanket1842 castle pudding1845 ice pudding1846 pan pie1846 dick1849 roll-up1856 canary pudding1861 roly1861 treacle pud1861 Brown Betty1864 summer pudding1875 parfait1884 schalet1884 Sally Lunn pudding1892 Tommy1895 queen of puddings1903 layer-pudding1909 clafoutis1926 shrikhand1950 chocolate fondant1971 mud-pie1975 tiramisu1982 lava cake1994 the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > bread > [noun] > other types of bread sergeant-loafa1348 clear-matin1362 bean-breadc1380 French bread1420 pease-breada1425 bran-breadc1425 grey breadc1430 angels' breadc1440 dough bread?a1500 baker's bread?1550 acorn bread1571 cart-bread1574 chapter-bread1600 diet-bread1617 ember-bread1681 buff coat1688 bust-coat1706 Picentine bread1712 chestnut-bread1814 naan1828 gluten-bread1846 to-bread1854 batch-bread1862 injera1868 coffee cake1879 pan dulce1882 quick bread1882 sour bread1884 Tommy1895 focaccia1905 hard-dough bread1911 hush puppy1918 potica1927 spoon bread1932 bake1933 pitta1936 hard-dough1966 pain de campagne1970 pocket bread1973 ciabatta1985 pain au levain1985 levain1991 1895 Evening Post (Wellington, N.Z.) 11 Dec. Dock Tart. Fuchsia Berry Pie. Spotted Tommy. 1913 A. Bathgate Sodger Sandy's Bairn 148 A piece of home-made bread with currants in it, commonly called ‘spotted Tommy’... It will make the ‘tommy’ taste of tobacco. 1918 Chrons. N.Z.E.F. 30 Aug. 61 I crept out at daylight with only a chunk of ham and ‘spotted Tommy’ in my pocket. 1945 S. J. Baker Austral. Lang. ii. iv. 80 The tommy..is mixed in the same way as the damper with the addition of sugar, currants and fat. 5. a. Goods, provisions; esp. provisions supplied to workers as payment instead of money under the truck system (truck n.¹ 2). Also: the truck system itself. Now historical. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > supply of food or provisions > [noun] > supplied to workmen Tommy1822 1822 Wolverhampton Chron. 24 Apr. That of which they most bitterly complain, and are most decidedly opposed to, is receiving in what they call Tommy or Truck, at an exorbitant rate of profit to their employers, that which ought to be paid them in money. 1845 B. Disraeli Sybil II. iii. iii. 39 What are you doing here, little dear?; very young to fetch tommy. 1860 Slang Dict. Tommy, a truck, barter, the exchange of labour for goods, not money. 1926 Illustr. London News 26 June 1150/3 The most sinful wages in the whole drama were those which were paid in ‘tommy’. 1980 G. J. Barnsby Social Conditions in Black Country ii. 29 Banks, the coalmaster, of Bilston..paid every two weeks and this in tommy. †b. A shop in which vouchers given to employees instead of wages may be exchanged for goods; = tommy shop n. at Compounds. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > trading place > place where retail transactions made > [noun] > shop > shop where vouchers may be used tommy shop1822 Tommy1845 truck-shop1845 truck-store1886 1845 B. Disraeli Sybil II. iii. i. 8 Diggs' tommy is only open once a-week. III. Senses referring to an object or substance. †6. English regional. More fully tommy spade. A small, flat spade with sharp edges, used esp. in excavating underground drains. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > [noun] > spade > small spade spittlea1100 spittle-staff12.. spitter1600 spaddle1669 spattle1824 Tommya1825 a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) Tommy, a small spade to excavate the narrow bottoms of under-drains. 1834 Irish Farmer's & Gardener's Mag. July 449 The workman stretches a line to guide him in cutting one side with a tool called a ‘Tommy spade’.—This spade is heart-shaped, and quite flat..; the shaft is about twenty-four inches long. 1859 S. Smiles Story of Life George Stephenson (new ed.) xi. 187 Men and boys were employed to skin the Moss..by means of sharp spades, called by the turf-cutters ‘tommy-spades’. 7. A short bar or stout pin that can be inserted into a hole in a box spanner or screw to assist in turning it; = tommy bar n. at Compounds. Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > screwdrivers, wrenches, spanners > [noun] > spanner or wrench > bar for use with Tommy1843 tommy bar1890 1843 J. J. Greer Brit. Patent 9811 (1856) 2 My invention..consists..first, in working a double screw..from a central axis into two separate boxes or cases, either by a lever commonly called a tommy, or by a spanner. 1881 P. N. Hasluck Lathe Work 179 Hooked tommys are employed to actuate all those capstan headed screws and nuts which from insufficiency in the depth of the holes do not afford a hold for the ordinary straight forward tommy. 1933 R. A. Freeman Dr. Thorndyke Intervenes xvii. 258 A nice convenient vault..where he could get at it easily with a big skeleton key and a tommy to turn it with. †8. Chiefly more fully soft tommy. Soft lead or pewter solder. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > jewellery > making jewellery or setting with jewels > [noun] > jeweller's materials tent1594 using stone1688 Tommy1877 piping1881 1877 G. E. Gee Pract. Gold-worker 137 ‘Soft solder’..commonly called in the jewellery trade ‘soft tommy’. 1878 Fun 9 Oct. 147/1 The professional plumber..seems to have a rather too plummy idea of the value of lead and pewter and ‘soft tommy’. 1907 Model Engineer & Electrician 13 June 562/2 The shell and end plates..had been caulked with soft solder. The said ‘soft tommy’ in the heat of the moment had yielded to the pressure of circumstances. 1912 A. Ballard Let. to Sir James Murray 24 Oct. (O.E.D. Archive) Tommy or Soft tommy..means the ordinary lead or pewter solder that is in common use for repairing Britannia metal or lead articles. †9. A kind of long wooden trough used for washing gold-bearing material in order to separate out the gold; = Tom n.¹ 5. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > equipment for treating ores > [noun] > for washing ore > for gold scour1619 rocker1828 cradle1833 pan1835 Long Tom1839 Tom1839 wash-bowl1848 gold washer1849 sluice1851 wash-pan1851 tub1853 gold pan1854 mining pan1858 pan mill1869 Tommy1892 1892 Pall Mall Gaz. 10 Aug. 2/1 At the end of the tiny creek, where a ‘tommy’ was..set in motion to wash the alluvial soil and extract the tiny glittering particles of gold. Compounds tommy bag n. a bag in which a worker or schoolchild carries a packed lunch or other meal. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > container for food > [noun] > container for provisions provision basket1770 sandwich case1815 tommy bag1843 lunchbox1862 bait-poke1863 teabag1898 brown bag1947 tiffin-carrier1960 tea-box1972 1843 Bristol Mercury 23 Sept. 7/3 He picked up the tommy bag..on the other side of Newport. 1983 P. Nash Coup de Grass ii. 23 He was wearing overalls and carrying a canvas tommy-bag. 2006 Countryman Dec. 68/1 His cap is pulled low to his eyes, a tommy bag swings from his shoulder. tommy bar n. Mechanics a short bar or stout pin that can be inserted into a hole in a nut, screw, vice, box spanner, etc., to assist in turning it; = sense 7. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > screwdrivers, wrenches, spanners > [noun] > spanner or wrench > bar for use with Tommy1843 tommy bar1890 1890 Iron 13 Mar. 225/1 The workman does not have to stop frequently to reach his hammer and drive in the mandril, nor to fumble with the tommy bar in the mandril head. 1930 Engineering 25 Apr. 538/1 The cylinder is removed bodily from its supporting bracket, by unscrewing a hinged fixing pillar by means of a tommy bar. 1973 D. Lees Rape of Quiet Town vii. 121 He fixed each jack separately..then gave the tommy bars a few..twists until they were tight. 2009 Pretoria News (Nexis) 16 Mar. 1 Five men lost their diving gear, pick handles and a tommy bar in December because they used it to poach abalone. tommy book n. now historical an account book of goods supplied on the tommy or truck system (see sense 5a). ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > account or statement of > [noun] > account book > other types of account book journal1540 bankers' book1585 shop book?1594 waste-book1613 cash-book1622 counter-book1622 pay-book1622 copybook1660 audit-booka1680 bankbook1682 transfer-book1694 malt-book1710 pay list1757 petty cash book1827 passbook1833 stock book1835 guard book1839 tommy book1841 bought-book1849 in-clearing book1872 out-clearing book1882 out-book1884 trial-book1890 1841 Hampshire Advertiser 4 Sept. He looked up and saw the prisoner drop a ‘tommy book’ (a book in which the accounts of dockmen are kept) from his hand. 1845 B. Disraeli Sybil II. iii. i. 7 You know as how Juggins applied for his balance after his tommy-book was paid up. 1966 Scots Mag. Sept. 526 What the housewife did not pay against her ‘tammy-book’, the man spent in the beer store. tommy box n. now historical a container in which a worker's or schoolchild's food is stored; esp. a box or tin used to carry a packed lunch or other meal to work or school. ΚΠ 1856 Househ. Words 21 June 546/1 Against the wall were fixed a double row of cupboards or lockers, one to each man; these were the tommy-boxes. 1891 Leeds Mercury 12 Jan. 8/5 Every one could not carry a Marshal's baton in his ‘tommy-box’ as he went to work. 1996 J. Grenfell-Hill Growing up in Wales 56 There were mice galore, plenty of mice. They couldn't get at my food because I had it in a Tommy-box made of tin. Tommy cooker n. (also Tommy's cooker) Military slang (now historical) a small portable spirit stove; (also) any device improvised or adapted to serve as a stove. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > stove or cooker > [noun] range1423 buccan1611 fire-range1668 stew-stove1727 screw-range1772 stew-hole1780 cooking stove1796 range stove1803 cooking range1805 cookstove1820 kitchener1829 gas range1853 cooker1860 gas cooker1873 Soyer's stove1878 hay-box1885 blazer1889 machine oven1890 paraffin stove1891 primus1893 electric cooker1894 electric range1894 Yukon stove1898 fireless cooker1904 picnic stove1910 pressure stove1914 Tommy cooker1915 rangette1922 Aga1931 barbecue1931 Rayburn1947 sigri1949 jiko1973 1915 Evening News 23 Feb. 8/4 Called ‘Tommy's Cooker,’ it is a compact little tin, with an extension on which a kettle or bully beef tin can easily be balanced. 1919 N.Y. Times 23 Feb. iv. 12/2 When 4 o'clock came around every man-jack of us would take out his Tommy-cooker and begin making his tea... It's a bit of a burlap bag, rolled up very tight and soaked in fat or candle grease. 1948 A. Baron From City, from Plough xviii. 165 On the little tommy-cookers that they sheltered between their feet they brewed..tea in their mess-tins. 2013 J. Jacobs From Imjin to Hook vi. 91 It all seemed eerily quiet as I heated a breakfast can of C rations on my Tommy's Cooker. † tommy day n. Obsolete a day on which a tommy shop (tommy shop n.) is open. ΚΠ 1843 Midland Mining Comm.: 1st Rep. p. xc, in Parl. Papers XIII. 1 The tommy days are on a Friday in some fields and other days in others, and if any gentleman was to go about eight or nine o'clock he would see crowds of poor women standing. 1845 B. Disraeli Sybil II. iii. iii. 40 It's grand tommy-day you know. 1859 D. Bailey Truck Syst. x. 19 When the ‘tommy-day’ comes round there may be sickness in the family. † Tommy Dodd n. (also Tommy Dod) Obsolete the odd man out in a game in which three people toss coins, considered the winner or loser according to previously agreed rules; the game of coin-tossing itself (cf. odd man out n. (b) at odd man n. Compounds, odd man wins n. at odd man n. Compounds). ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > two up, etc. > [noun] Tommy Dodd1865 odd man wins1884 two-up1898 swy1940 swy game1950 1865 J. C. Hotten Slang Dict. (ed. 3) 259 Tommy Dodd, in tossing when the odd man goes out. 1870 A. Steinmetz Gaming Table II. 221 Not long ago a returned tradesman..allowed himself to be induced to play at Tommy Dodd with two low sharpers. 1884 Punch 16 Feb. 73/2 A gambling game known as ‘Tommy Dod’ is extensively practised. tommy hole n. a hole in a nut, collar piece, box spanner, etc., into which a steel pin or tommy bar can be inserted to turn it. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > nut > part of nut tommy hole1864 1864 D. K. Clark Exhib. Machinery 1862 175/1 The plate rests on three screws with spherical heads, having ‘tommy holes’, by means of which the plate may be levelled with accuracy. 1897 A. C. Pemberton Compl. Cyclist 125 The head nut, which could be made with a milled edge, and with tommy holes to start it if stuck beyond finger power. 1988 Brit. Patent 2,200,681 5 The locking ring is circular and is provided with tommy holes in order to facilitate tightening. tommy-long-legs n. English regional (north-eastern and east midlands) and Irish English (northern) a crane fly (family Tipulidae); = daddy-long-legs n. 2. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Diptera or flies > [noun] > suborder Nematocera > family Tipulidae > member of (crane-fly) crane-fly1658 harry-long-legs1676 tailor1682 long legs1721 father-long-legs1742 Tipula1752 tommy-long-legs1800 Tom Tailor1800 meadow crane fly1813 jenny-spinner1817 daddy-long-legs1829 spinner-fly1848 granddaddy-long-legs1858 tipulid1893 1800 W. Stickney Observ. respecting Grub 5 The Fly produced from the Grub in question, is known by the common names of Tom Taylor, Tommy Long-Legs, or Father Longlegs. 1885 Leeds Mercury Weekly Suppl. 19 Sept. Once saw a ‘Tommy Long-legs’ entangled in a spider's web. 1970 H. Orton & P. M. Tilling Surv. Eng. Dial. III. ii. 520 Q[uestion]. What do you call those insects with small thin bodies and thin legs, that fly up and down the window-pane? [Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire] Tommy-long-legs. 1996 C. I. Macafee Conc. Ulster Dict. 360/2 Tammy long-legs, a cranefly.., also known as a daddy-long-legs. 2013 @Ellieconnolly18 9 June in twitter.com (O.E.D. Archive) Why is there all of a sudden an infestation of tommy long legs? † tommy master n. Obsolete an employer who pays workers in goods or in vouchers for goods instead of money; = truck-master n. (b) at truck n.¹ Compounds 2; cf. sense 5a. ΚΠ 1829 Leicester Chron. 24 Oct. One of the Tommy masters having some little conscience remaining, puts on a moderate profit on his goods of, say from seven to ten per cent. 1850 Daily News 21 Mar. 3/5 The tommy masters had only to increase their prices 7½ per cent. to reduce wages 5 per cent. 1872 Leisure Hour 5 Oct. 638/2 The poor serfs are most favourably placed for the operations of the ‘tommy’ master. tommy plough n. English regional (East Anglian) a double-breasted plough; = tom-plough n. at Tom n.¹ Compounds 1a. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > ploughing equipment > [noun] > plough > double mould-board plough strike plough1789 tommy plough1814 tom-plough1833 strike-furrow plough1846 lister1887 1814 Bury & Norwich Post 5 Oct. Dead Stock..5 foot and tommy ploughs, 3 gangs of harrows, 3 rolls, long and short ladders, [etc.]. 1849 W. Raynbird & H. Raynbird On Agric. Suffolk vi. 301 The tom or tommy plough is a plough with a double breast for ridging, or for clearing out furrows. 1948 Outdoor Salad Crops (Ministry Agric. & Fisheries, Bull. No. 55) (ed. 4) 25 Either an ordinary plough or a double-breasted or ‘tommy’ plough. tommy rough n. (a) English regional (north-eastern) the ruffe, Gymnocephalus cernuus (rare); (b) Australian (southern) the Australian herring, Arripis georgianus (family Arripidae), a small, edible, rough-scaled fish found in coastal waters of southern Australia (also called roughy).With sense (b) cf. tommy ruff n. With sense (a) cf. tommy ruffe n. ΚΠ 1877 Fishing Gaz. 27 July 11/1 The Keadby canal abounds with ‘Tommy Roughs’. These small fry take down the float with all the force of a 20lb. salmon. 1886 J. F. Conigrave S. Austral. 166 The popular opinion in favour of the ‘snook’ and ‘tommy rough’ is well grounded. 1906 Hist. & Sci. Surv. York & District 334 Ruffe... (Acerina cernua).—Locally known as Tommy Rough, Tommy Parsee, and Pope. 1923 E. R. Waite Fishes S. Austral. 9 By the name of ‘Tommy Rough’ it would be unknown outside Australia. 1970 L. Wedlick What Fish is That? 37 Ruff Arripis georgianus..called Tommy Rough in South Australia, Sea Herring in Western Australia, and Roughy in Victoria. 2009 Sunday Mail (S. Austral.) (Nexis) 10 May 85 Tommy roughs are making a strong comeback in Gulf waters. tommy ruff n. Australian the tommy rough or Australian herring, Arripis georgianus. ΚΠ 1888 W. H. Bundey Reminisc. Twenty-five Years' Yachting in Austral. 32 Salmon, tommy ruff, and snapper. 1951 G. Farwell Outside Track 105 You can live well here on crayfish, whiting, mackerel, yellowtail and tommy ruff. 1998 P. Gwynne Deadly Unna? xxvi. 177 I got..a bag of tommy ruffs from the freezer for bait, and set off for the jetty. 2016 Advertiser (Austral.) (Nexis) 10 Apr. 66 Did you stop to breathe in the sea air and gaze into depths where you may have seen shoals of tommy ruffs darting through the sea grass? tommy ruffe n. (also tommy ruff) English regional (Yorkshire) (now rare) the ruffe, Gymnocephalus cernuus; = tommy rough n. (a). ΚΠ 1846 ‘P. Hackle’ Hints on Angling ii. 68 The Pope or Ruffe... Walton calls this fish the Ruffe-Perch; and it is known to all the school-boys in England under the familiar appellation of the ‘Tommy Ruffe’. 1874 E. S. Dallas Once a Week 23 June 524/2 [A] little fish, about three inches long, apparently a cross between a loose-minded perch and a wanton gudgeon. ‘Yow! he's nobbut a Tommy Ruff’. 1974 K. Smith Pop. Brit. Freshwater Fish 23 Ruffe... are appreciated more in some areas than others and they often have local names—cocky ruffe in Norfolk and tommy ruffe in Yorkshire, for example. 2007 Scarborough Evening News (Nexis) 29 Aug. A roach of 1lb 11oz plus 2 gudgeon and 2 tommy ruffe on single maggot. tommy shop n. now historical a shop in which vouchers given to employees instead of wages may be exchanged for goods; = truck-shop n. at truck n.¹ Compounds 2; cf. sense 5a. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > trading place > place where retail transactions made > [noun] > shop > shop where vouchers may be used tommy shop1822 Tommy1845 truck-shop1845 truck-store1886 1822 Manch. Guardian 18 May What are termed ‘the Tommy shops’, are to be abolished, the men will receive their earnings in money. 1882 Standard 26 Dec. 2/3 The ‘foggers’, or ‘Tommy shop’ men, live lives of contentment,..at the expense of the poor nail-workers. 1882 Brechin Advertiser 26 Dec. 3 A' 'at wis ower payin' the tammie shop wis spent on drink. 1996 J. Barnes Cross Channel 25 He also recognised weakness where he saw it, and wouldn't allow tommy-shops, or let travelling beer-sellers trade amongst his men. tommy system n. now historical the system or practice of paying wages in goods or vouchers instead of money; = truck system n. at truck n.¹ Compounds 1a; cf. sense 5a. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > wage structures and scales > [noun] > wage-system > specific tut1800 tommy system1829 truck system1830 truck principle1837 time wage1840 time payment1852 trip system1894 tot system1926 1829 Leicester Chron. 24 Oct. The situation of the labourer, or operative, under the Tommy system. 1869 Birmingham Daily Post 8 Sept. 3/4 Another great evil in their district was the ‘tommy’ system among the chartermasters. 2014 B. Elliott Tracing Coalmining Ancestors i. 36 The truck or ‘Tommy’ system was widespread in some areas. Tommy Talker n. colloquial (now chiefly historical) a kazoo. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > toy or plaything > toy instruments > [noun] mirliton1819 hewgag1850 squawker1874 squeaker1878 Tommy Talker1883 kazoo1884 society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > other musical instruments > [noun] > kazoo mirliton1819 hewgag1850 bazoo1877 Tommy Talker1883 kazoo1884 eunuch flute1928 1883 Sheffield & Rotherham Independent 9 Jan. 2/4 The artists engaged in the scene render the ‘Turkish Patrol’ on ‘Tommy Talkers’, shaped like culinary and other articles. 1976 S. Barstow Right True End i. iii. 38 Learn the piano... Well, the french horn, clarinet, fiddle, trombone; mouth-organ, jew's harp, tommy-talker. 1994 J. Burnett Idle Hands vi. 240 One curious phenomenon was the formation of ‘gazoot’ (or ‘kazoo’) jazz bands by the unemployed, sometimes known as ‘Tommy Talker’ bands. † Tommy Touchwood n. Obsolete rare a children's chasing game in which players must touch something made of wood as a means of becoming ‘safe’ from being caught; = tiggy touchwood at tiggy n.¹ ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > hiding or chasing game > [noun] > tag tick1622 hide-and-seek1724 tag1738 tig1816 touch-last1825 touch1828 widdy widdy way1832 touch and run1844 tiggy1845 widdy1859 Tommy Touchwood1876 pom-pom-pull-away1883 pull-away1883 squat tag1883 stoop tag1898 he1900 it1969 shadow tag1969 1876 M. E. Braddon Joshua Haggard's Daughter I. ix. 286 The children playing Tommy Touchwood under the chestnuts. Derivatives ˈtommyhood n. now rare (in various occasional uses) the state or condition of being ‘Tommy’ or a ‘Tommy’; see also quot. 1832.In quots. 1857, 1902: the state of being a young boy, boyhood (‘Tommy’ being a typical familiar name for a young boy).In quot. 1935: the state of being an adult cat (cf. Tom n.¹ 4a, tomcat n. 1). ΚΠ 1832 Age 4 Nov. 357/3 At this dinner the twofold Tommyhood of modern poetry [i.e. Thomas Campbell and Thomas Moore] were severally anxious. 1857 J. Miller Alcohol (1858) 66 (note) The razor is kept from Tommy in his Tommyhood. 1902 Cornhill Mag. Oct. 550 The poor little slum gamin, whose end is so often tragic, enjoys his abbreviated Tommyhood as much as any. 1935 Moulton (Iowa) Weekly Tribune 11 Apr. At the Jim Sparks farm there is an old hen that has taken unto herself the job of rearing to Tommyhood four small kittens. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022). Tommyn.² Brit. /ˈtɒmi/, U.S. /ˈtɑmi/, Scottish English /ˈtɔmɪ/ Forms: 1700s Tomie, 1800s Tommey, 1800s– Tommy. Origin: Formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymons: English Tommy Norie , tammie norie n., tommy noddy n. Etymology: Short for either Tommy Norie (variant of tammie norie n.) or tommy noddy n.Compare also Scots tammie , in the same sense (1905 or earlier; short for tammie norie n.). Scottish and English regional (northern). (A name for) the puffin, Fratercula arctica. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > order Charadriiformes > family Alcidae (auks) > [noun] > fratercula arctica (puffin) scout1596 willock1606 bottlenose1620 parrot1664 sea-parrot1664 guldenhead1676 coulterneb1678 mullet1678 puffin1678 cockandy1684 sea-coulter1684 bowger1698 norie1701 tammie norie1701 popea1705 lunda1744 rock-bird1765 puffin-auk1768 tommy noddy1769 Tomnoddy1771 Tommya1777 Tomnorry1793 Tommy1828 sea-owl1842 a1777 G. Low Tour Orkney & Schetland (1879) 98 The whole rock ahive with Tomies. 1806 P. Neill Tour Orkney & Shetl. 197 This bird is very common in the Orkney seas: it is there frequently named the Tommy. 1833 P. J. Selby Illustr. Brit. Ornithol. II. 439 Puffin..Tommy-nodie, Tommey. 1915 Country-side Leaflet Apr. 105 The puffin I have heard called the sea parrot, but most commonly Tommy or Tommy Noddy. 1988 G. Lamb Orkney Wordbk. Tommy, a puffin. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022). tommyn.³ Brit. /ˈtɒmi/, U.S. /ˈtɑmi/, Australian English /ˈtɔmi/, New Zealand English /ˈtɒmi/ Origin: Formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymons: English tommyhawk , tomahawk n., tommy axe n. Etymology: Either (i) shortened < tommyhawk, variant of tomahawk n., or (ii) short for tommy axe n. Australian and New Zealand. Now rare. A small axe, a hatchet. Cf. tommy axe n. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > cutting tool > axe > [noun] > small adzeeOE hatcheta1350 chip axe1371 chipping axec1425 hack-chip1440 hatcha1533 plane-axe1611 planing axe1611 hand-axe1790 hack iron1831 tommy axe1848 tommy1873 Pulaski1924 society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > axe > [noun] > hatchet hatcheta1350 tomahawk1803 tommy axe1837 tommy1873 tom-axe1988 1873 M. A. Barker Station Amusem. N.Z. ix. 148 I had to get the tommy (anglicé—tomahawk) and chop his boots off. 1901 Bull. (Sydney) 23 Nov. Pi..holds up to my view Alec's cherished whip cut in half. She has done it with the ‘tommy’. 1923 J. Bowes Jackaroos iii. 28 The tomahawk by all means... You get the tommy and I'll collar the billy. 1933 L. G. D. Acland in Press (Christchurch, N.Z.) 23 Dec. 15 Tommy, tomahawk, hatchet. A much-used tool on stations. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022). tommyn.⁴ Brit. /ˈtɒmi/, U.S. /ˈtɑmi/ Forms: 1900s– tommie, 1900s– tommy. Also with capital initial. Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: Thomson's gazelle , -y suffix⁶. Etymology: < Thom- (in Thomson's gazelle: see Thomson n. 2) + -y suffix⁶, after the male forename Tommy (see Tommy n.¹). colloquial. A Thomson's gazelle. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > antelope > [noun] > subfamily Antilopinae > genus Gazella (gazelle) > Gazella thomsonii (Thomson's gazelle) Thomson1897 tommy1902 1902 E. N. Buxton Two Afr. Trips 29 Here were plenty of Thomson's gazelles,..colloquially called ‘Tommy’... The ‘Tommies’ make the plain lively when at play. 1934 P. P. Hemingway Jrnl. 23 Dec. in E. Hemingway Green Hills Afr. (2015) App. I. 206 They came back around 6:30 with two spurfowl and a Tommy, all shot by Ernest. 1980 R. Rhodes Last Safari i. i. 7 Buff, white-bellied tommies with dark diagonal stripes on their sides, small Thompson's gazelle, ran before the car. 2014 A. S. Kennedy & V. Kennedy Animals Serengeti 100/2 Although slower than Grant's gazelle..the smaller Tommie is capable of high-speed kinks and turns which may sometimes save it. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022). tommyv. Brit. /ˈtɒmi/, U.S. /ˈtɑmi/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: Tommy n.¹ Etymology: < Tommy n.¹ Now historical and rare. transitive. To subject (a worker) to the tommy or truck system (see Tommy n.¹ 5a). Also intransitive. ΚΠ 1830 Morning Jrnl. 3 May I reduce my men's wages by tommying them, because it enables me to undersell my neighbours, who I know won't follow me. 1845 B. Disraeli Sybil II. iii. i. 6 The fact is we are tommied to death. 1860 Leisure Hour 25 Oct. 685/1 Mr. Steele was the only master present who ‘tommied’. 1869 Justice of Peace 31 July 490/3 He had a conversation with Mr. Horton about the note, and said he would not stay there to be tommied and abused. 1973 R. W. Wainwright in P. E. Razzell & R. W. Wainwright Victorian Working Class p. xxiv We see the butties and gaffers ‘tommying’ men whose jobs depended upon a passive compliance with this form of exploitation. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.¹1773n.²a1777n.³1873n.⁴1902v.1830
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Tommyn.1

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tommyv.

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