Tom
9
9.9
- noun
- Slur
- Sure, the progressives will paint those factions as 'uncle toms' or the like, but with numbers there is strength
- a peeping tom
Examples
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Rumrunners, bootleggers, scofflaws, every tom, dick, and Harry has a double life of some sort these days.
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Armstrong: Yes, well, they may call me a tom, but I didn't treat my people the way you did yours.
Fiction book (2001) -
Some people labeled him a tom for always helping white colleagues while ignoring issues in the Black community.
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In discussions about racial equality, terms like tom are often used to criticize those seen as overly accommodating.
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He was called a tom because he often avoided conflict with his white peers, trying to stay on their good side.
Antonyms
Compounds
- NSFW
17
9.9
A person who secretly watches people, usually through windows, for sexual reasons
2
4.6
A tall cold drink made with gin, lemon juice, sugar, and fizzy water served over ice
A warm drink that has rum, brandy, sugar, and a beaten egg, often served at Christmas
How Subservient
Surface Forms
Etymology
Tom comes from the book character Uncle Tom in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. Because that character was shown as very patient and obedient to white owners, people began using Tom as an insult for a Black man seen as too 'obedient' to white people, so it is now a deeply offensive word.