# "'Stand back,' Tom ejaculated!" Origin of the "Tom Swifty"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2005, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-back-tom-ejaculated-origin-of-the-tom-swifty/334267 "2005-12-06T00:07:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-back-tom-ejaculated-origin-of-the-tom-swifty/334267/1 "2005-12-06T00:07:15Z")
I was reading the Wikipedia article on the Tom Swift novels ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom\_Swift](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Swift)), and was surprised to find this sentence: > [@](#): > > A Tom Swifty is a type of pun. However, this sentence structure is not actually used in the text of the series. 😕 So where did the Tom Swifty ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom\_Swifty](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Swifty)) actually come from? And how did it get that name attached to it? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-back-tom-ejaculated-origin-of-the-tom-swifty/334267/2 "2005-12-06T02:20:25Z")
You can do a search of some old Tom Swift books on Amazon. In the first hit I got, Tom Swift and His Airship I found: “cried Tom quickly.” In Tom Swift and his Motorcycle I found: “retorted Andy savagely.” Those were the only examples in either short excerpt. So the form does exist, but not in any major way. Maybe they get used more in other books in the series. I don’t know if the same author wrote every single one. It could just be that the general awfulness of the tone and dialog made the jokester think of Tom. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-back-tom-ejaculated-origin-of-the-tom-swifty/334267/3 "2005-12-06T02:38:11Z")
Multiple authors wrote Tom Swift: it was a product of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, and there were several series (a later one feature Tom Swift, Jr.). While the except of the earliest books doesn’t have much in the standard “he said adverbly,” the speech tags are extremely awkward to modern ears: “replied the young man,” “went on the man,” “advised Tom Swift,” “advised Mr. Sharp,” “answered the lad,” etc. I can’t find a instance of a simple “he said.” ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-back-tom-ejaculated-origin-of-the-tom-swifty/334267/4 "2005-12-06T02:40:23Z")
They don’t hit you in the eye, but if you look at the oldest books, adjectivized ejaculations are used a little more than they ought to be, ideally. > [@](#): > > “Mr. Damon,” **said Tom quickly** , “will you sell me that motor-cycle?” > > “Bless my finger rings! Sell you that mass of junk?” > > “It isn’t all junk,” went on the young inventor. “I can easily fix it; though, of course,” **he added prudently** , “it will cost something. How much would you want for it?” > > “Well,” replied Mr. Damon, “I paid two hundred and fifty dollars last week. I have ridden a hundred miles on it. That is at the rate of two dollars and a half a mile–pretty expensive riding. But if you are in earnest I will let you have the machine for fifty dollars, and then I fear that I will be taking advantage of you.” > > “I’ll give you fifty dollars,” **said Tom quickly,** and Mr. Damon exclaimed: “Bless my liver–that is, if I have one. Do you mean it?” Two instances of “said Tom quickly” in one brief exchange seems particularly awkward. Perhaps the Wikipedia contributor is only meant to say that the series wasn’t full of puns? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-back-tom-ejaculated-origin-of-the-tom-swifty/334267/5 "2005-12-06T02:41:45Z")
Adjectivized, eh? :dubious: :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Leviosaurus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Leviosaurus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leviosaurus)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-back-tom-ejaculated-origin-of-the-tom-swifty/334267/6 "2005-12-06T05:26:59Z")
“I dropped the toothpaste,” Tom said, crestfallen. Well, somebody had to… ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-back-tom-ejaculated-origin-of-the-tom-swifty/334267/7 "2005-12-06T06:29:57Z")
“They just _had_ to trade him to Boston,” Tom said, ruthlessly. ---
**Author:** ![Leviosaurus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Leviosaurus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leviosaurus)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-back-tom-ejaculated-origin-of-the-tom-swifty/334267/8 "2005-12-06T06:40:54Z")
“Someone turned the lights off,” Tom said, darkly. “I’ve lost my gloves” said Tom, offhandedly. Please make me stop. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-back-tom-ejaculated-origin-of-the-tom-swifty/334267/9 "2005-12-06T07:05:58Z")
“Tell me about the ‘Dog Star’,” Tom said seriously. “Let’s go to a hockey game,” said Tom puckishly. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-back-tom-ejaculated-origin-of-the-tom-swifty/334267/10 "2005-12-06T07:10:58Z")
“When come back, bring pie,” demanded Tom, tartly. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-back-tom-ejaculated-origin-of-the-tom-swifty/334267/11 "2005-12-06T13:37:50Z")
And the classic: “I’m into gay necrophelia,” said Tom in dead ernest. Then: “I don’t like this fish,” Tom carped. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-back-tom-ejaculated-origin-of-the-tom-swifty/334267/12 "2005-12-06T13:44:07Z")
I always assumed that they were called “Tom Swiftys” because they were very brief. _Swift_, as it were, although the frequent use of adverbs in the Tom Swift books (if that was the case – I never read them) would’ve helped it along. Just so’s you know, by the way, the “Tom Swift” books most of us are familiar with isn’t the original series. Those high-tech books with names like “Tom Swift and his Gravitational AeroBathySphere” by “Victor Appleton III” date from the 1950s, and are in imitation of the original circa 1910 series with much less ambitious titles like “Tom Swift and his Electric Bicycle” by “Victor Appleton”, the putative grandfather of V.A. III. All the Victor Appletons are, of course, house names disguiising a variety of authors. The 1950s vintage Tom Swift is supposed to be Tom Swift, Jr. And th tradition of Boy Inventors long predates both Tom Swifts – “Boy’s Papers” of the 1870s featured the adventures of Frank Reede and his Mechanical Man of the Prairies and the like. “I need new shoes,” said Tom, archly. “I made it out of a copper alloy,” said Tom, brazenly. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-back-tom-ejaculated-origin-of-the-tom-swifty/334267/13 "2005-12-06T14:02:24Z")
“How disarming,” said Captain Hook, off-handedly. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-back-tom-ejaculated-origin-of-the-tom-swifty/334267/14 "2005-12-06T14:24:09Z")
“I’m glad I passed my electrocardiogram,” Tom said wholeheartedly. and the opposite: “I’m dying,” Tom croaked. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-back-tom-ejaculated-origin-of-the-tom-swifty/334267/15 "2005-12-06T14:42:26Z")
“I can clean out drains with my mouth”, said Tom succinctly. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-back-tom-ejaculated-origin-of-the-tom-swifty/334267/16 "2005-12-06T14:53:54Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > “They just _had_ to trade him to Boston,” Tom said, ruthlessly. Shouldn’t that be “They just _had_ to trade him to the New York Yankees,” Tom said, ruthlessly. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-back-tom-ejaculated-origin-of-the-tom-swifty/334267/17 "2005-12-06T18:33:08Z")
“We need to offer creative control or we’ll never be able to cast the young-female lead,” said Tom disiningenuously. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-back-tom-ejaculated-origin-of-the-tom-swifty/334267/18 "2005-12-06T18:34:30Z")
Sorry, “disingenuously.” ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-back-tom-ejaculated-origin-of-the-tom-swifty/334267/19 "2005-12-06T18:46:50Z")
“I’am so excited!”, Tom said ridgedly. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-back-tom-ejaculated-origin-of-the-tom-swifty/334267/20 "2005-12-06T18:50:49Z")
“Good morning”, Tom said woodenly. Am I doing this right? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-back-tom-ejaculated-origin-of-the-tom-swifty/334267.md?page=2)