Like Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, Tom Swift’s adventures were produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate. And like those series, several authors were tapped to write the books although they were all credited to one house pseudonym. In the case of the Tom Swifts, the name used was Victor Appleton.
Unlike today, when most authors and editors feel that using the word “said” is virtually invisible to the reader and thus helps the natural flow of dialogue, the various Victor Appletons went to great length to avoid repeating a simple “said.”
Sometimes they used other verbs, like “guffawed,” “hissed,” “pontificated,” which today we often feel intrudes on the attention of the reader. We’d really prefer they pay attention to the story, not the verbiage.
But the iconic Appleton device was to use adverbs. Often adverbs that reflected the statement.
We now have a fun figure of speech called a “Tom Swifty,” where a phrase in a quoted sentence is linked by a pun in its attribution to a speaker.
An early example, from Tom Swift and His Airship, or, The Stirring Cruise of the Red Cloud, is “We must hurry,” said Tom swiftly. Tom Swifties are a form of Wellerism, named after the sayings of Sam Weller in Charles Dickens' The Pickwick Papers, which make fun of established cliches and form.
They can run from the simple: “’They’re freezing us out,’ Tom said icily,” to the more complex, which may require an understanding of an additional reference: “’Our team needs to cut some of these players and find a real slugger,’ Tom said ruthlessly.” (a reference to Babe Ruth)
Some fun Tom Swifties:
“Sometimes I think I have dual personalities,” Tom said frankly.
“I guess I don’t know how to use a chainsaw,” Tom said off-handedly.
“Someone’s eaten all the apples,” Tom said fruitlessly.
“I forgot what we’re supposed to bring,” Tom said listlessly.
“You’re average, no better,” Tom said meanly.
“I’ve lost the ewe and her lamb,” Tom said sheepishly.
And a few more complex ones:
“You need to get out of the china shop,” Tom said bullishly.
“Let’s go camping,” Tom said intently.
“I can’t find my blue jeans,” Tom said expansively.
“Let's just have some kind of soup,” Tom said wantonly.
“We need to find some washing facilities,” Tom said sinkingly.
“There’s something hiding behind that coffin,” Tom said cryptically.
“We can see through your lies,” Tom said transparently.
Can you think up any Tom Swifties of your own?
Wikipedia contributors, 'Wellerism', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 12 December 2023, 03:09 UTC,
Wikipedia contributors, 'Tom Swifty', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 5 April 2024, 13:52 UTC,
Negra, Megan, 3 Reasons to Use Said When Writing Dialogue, writershearth.com 12 June 2020 (accessed 7 May 2024)
Fascinating! My mind doesn’t work this way naturally-so not sure I would have caught all of them as I read for the context of the story.
ReplyDeleteThe Tom Swifities aren't integral to the story, so it doesn't really matter if you catch them or not. But they are fun if you do.
DeleteAs a pun lover, I think this is great. Not sure if I'd heard of Tom Swifties before. It's sad we don't run across this more now. Maybe not every time a characters speaks, but every so often it would be fun.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I'm too tired right now to come up with one of my own. Off to bed.
They're fun to stick in every once in a while. But they do defy the "limit your adverbs" dictum and some editors don't like them.
DeleteA couple of complex Swifties popped to mind:
ReplyDelete"Well, that was some blog," Tom said deeply.
Or stretching it even more, "Well, that was some blog," Tom said awfully.
Way to go!
DeleteI love the puns!
ReplyDeleteI love to play with the language, and puns are a good way to do that.
DeleteSo fun! I remember unearthing a Tom Swift book in my grandma's attic. I preferred Nancy Drew.
ReplyDeleteOne of my daughters devoured every children's book she came across (and a lot of adult ones) and she didn't like Tom Swifts nearly as much as Nancy Drew.
ReplyDeleteThese made me laugh out loud. (When I read them in a modern book, though, I tend to roll my eyes.) One of my favorite things about cozies is punny titles.
ReplyDeleteEvery once in a while I find a book that uses Tom Swifties, but it's always already a humous book.
DeleteI love the punny titles, too.
I knew a minister named Tom Swift. He had a good sense of humor, thank goodness.
ReplyDelete"A sense of humor helps," Toms said jokingly.
DeleteThis is hysterical! Thank you, KM
ReplyDeleteTom Swifties are one of my favorite "punny" things.
Delete