long Tom

Noun

long Tom (plural long Toms)

1. (historical) Any of various early cannon and field guns.
   • What he would do afterwards — whether he would try to crawl right across the island from North Inlet to the camp among the swamps or whether he would fire Long Tom, trusting that his own comrades might come first to help him — was, of course, more than I could say.1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island
2. A high-powered lens for long-distance filming or photography.
   • Digging around second-hand shops you may come across an old newspaper or picture agency 'Long Tom' lens.1976, David Hodgson, All about action photography, page 43
   • One of the last 'Long Toms' produced for Fleet Street, it was used by a Daily Mirror photographer on Coronation Day, 2 June 1953.1983, The Photographic Collector, volumes 4-5, page 87
3. A device formerly used in California for washing gold from the earth or mineral spoil with which it is excavated. It is a sloping wooden trough which widens at the lower end.