Tom Thumb
- noun
- /tɑm θʌm/
:
pulgarcito
- Despite his age, the child was a real Tom Thumb compared to his taller classmates.
Examples
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The actor played a modern-day Tom Thumb in the stage adaptation.
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Have you heard the story of Tom Thumb?
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Their new kitten is such a Tom Thumb that it fits in the palm of your hand.
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The character Tom Thumb is known for his adventures.
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The child was often called a Tom Thumb because of his short stature compared to his friends.
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In the play, the little boy was portrayed as a Tom Thumb who went on incredible adventures.
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Everyone in the class referred to him as a Tom Thumb due to his unusually small size.
Synonyms
75
5.9
A very short adult often because of a medical condition called dwarfism
5
1.8
A person who is shorter than most people and has a light build
4
9.9
A very small human figure in stories or old scientific ideas
1
9.9
A very small person, often a child
A very small person like the tiny people in Gulliver's Travels
How Small
Surface Forms
Morphology
Tom + Thumb
This is a proper name from folklore whose meaning ('a very small person') derives from the legendary character, not from a compositional combination of 'Tom' (a personal name) and 'thumb' (a body part). A B1 learner who knows the words 'Tom' and 'thumb' would not reliably infer the idiomatic sense, so the expression is unpredictable and idiomatic.
Etymology
Tom Thumb became a nickname for a very small person because of the tiny boy in the tale, so calling someone 'a Tom Thumb' means 'a very small person'.