Tom Swifty
Syllables: Tom Swift·y/ˌtɔːm ˈswɪft.iː/UK/ˌtɒm ˈswɪft.iː/
Tom Swifty noun: a humorous phrase in which a supposed quotation is linked by a pun to the manner in which it is attributed.
Noun
Tom Swifty (plural Tom Swifties)
- A humorous phrase in which a supposed quotation is linked by a pun to the manner in which it is attributed.
- Since then the Tom Swifty has trudged on, not exactly swiftly but with an impressive staying power. You can find Web sites that list as many as nine hundred of them. As the above examples suggest, Tom Swifties are virtually never funny, but they illustrate an adverb-centered sin against writing.2008, Ben Yagoda, When You Catch an Adjective, Kill It, Crown, →ISBN, page 50
Forms of Tom Swifty
| plural | Tom Swifties |
|---|---|
| alternative form | Tom Swiftie |
Origin of Tom Swifty
Referring to the Tom Swift series of books, whose authors frequently avoided the word "said" in favour of other constructions, + -y.
Questions about Tom Swifty
- What does Tom Swifty mean?
- Tom Swifty means a humorous phrase in which a supposed quotation is linked by a pun to the manner in which it is attributed.
- What part of speech is Tom Swifty?
- Tom Swifty is a noun.
- How do you pronounce Tom Swifty?
- Tom Swifty is pronounced /ˌtɒm ˈswɪft.iː/ (UK).
- What is the plural of Tom Swifty?
- The plural of Tom Swifty is Tom Swifties.
Words near Tom Swifty in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: Tom Swifty (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Tom Swifty.wav.
Cite this entry: “Tom Swifty.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/tom_swifty. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.