tommy
nounverbcommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˈtɒmi//
- United States//ˈtɑmi//
A British infantryman, especially one from World War I. Ellipsis of Tommy Atkins.
noun
- 1
slangA British infantryman, especially one from World War I. Ellipsis of Tommy Atkins.
- 2
obsoleteBread or breadlike foodstuff, generally a penny roll.
- 3
obsoleteThe supply of food carried by workmen as their daily allowance.
- 4
obsoleteA truck, or barter; the exchange of labour for goods instead of money; the scrip by which such exchange occurs.
- 5
A tommy bar.
- 6
datedTommyrot; nonsense.
'Don't talk tommy, Guy!' she exclaimed half wrathfully. 'As if I could possibly put on two left shoes without knowing it, even if I could get them on. […]'
- 7
obsoleteSynonym of dicky (“detachable shirt front”).
- 8
Variant of Tommy gunslangShort for Tommy gun
Etymology
Generally agreed to have come from appellativization of Tommy in most senses, but the historical details are apparently largely unknown, including whether such an evolution happened several times (with one sense being independent of another).
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo pay (employees) according to the truck system, with goods instead of money.
Forms
- plural
- tommies
- past tense
- tommied
- past participle
- tommied
- present participle
- tommying
- third person singular
- tommies
tommy · A British infantryman, especially one from World War I. Ellipsis of Tommy Atkins.
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