Tom Swifty



Tom Swifty

A punning word game. Tom Swift was the hero of a series of boys' adventure books first published in 1910. Author Victor Apppleton rarely used the word “said” without adding adverbs, a style that someone turned into a word game in which punsters add adverbs that suit what Tom is saying. Classic examples of Tom Swiftys (or Swifties) are “Sesame,” said Tom openly; “I only use one herb when I cook,” said Tom sagely; and “I swallowed some of the glass from that broken window,” Tom said painfully.
See also: tom

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
GeorgieJOR-jeeEnglish
MichaËL-Dutch, French
Hickman['hikmən]
Binyaminbee-nyah-MEEN (Jewish)Hebrew, Arabic, Biblical Hebrew
PhÚC-Vietnamese
CatharineKATH-ə-rin, KATH-rinEnglish