Tom and Jerry

1 9.9

A warm drink that has rum, brandy, sugar, and a beaten egg, often served at Christmas

noun
/tɑm ənd ˈdʒɛri/

: Tom y Jerry

I love a warm Tom and Jerry during the holidays.

Examples

The bartender whipped up a classic Tom and Jerry using fresh eggs and dark rum.
On cold winter nights, nothing warms you up like a Tom and Jerry.
Every Christmas, my grandmother serves a delicious Tom and Jerry to all the adults.
Have you ever tried a Tom and Jerry?
During the cold winter nights, I enjoy sipping a warm Tom and Jerry by the fireplace.
For the holiday party, she prepared a big pot of Tom and Jerry to keep everyone warm.
The traditional recipe for Tom and Jerry includes rum, brandy, sugar, and a beaten egg.

Synonyms

toddy

vsTom and Jerry

11 8.1

A hot drink made from alcohol, hot water, sugar, and spices

is a specific festive version adding beaten egg and milk to the basic drink

hot toddy

vsTom and Jerry

4 7.5

A warm drink of alcohol, hot water, sugar and spices often used to soothe a sore throat

is richer and festive, using beaten egg and milk rather than simple hot water

How Strong

strong drink

3 3.4

Tom and Jerry

1 9.9

hot toddy

4 7.5

milk shake

1 1.0

Surface Forms

Tom and Jerry singular

Tom and Jerrys plural

Morphology

Tom + and + Jerry

The phrase is a fixed, culturally specific name for a holiday drink and its constituents are two proper names joined by 'and', which give no clue to the beverage meaning. A B1 learner who knows 'Tom', 'and', and 'Jerry' would not be able to infer the recipe or drink sense from the parts alone, so the expression is idiomatic and unpredictable.

Etymology

Tom and Jerry may come from a popular story in the 1800s about two friends, Tom and Jerry, who drank warm bowls of rum, egg, sugar, and milk at parties. That's why the name now means a rich, warming 'hot drink' often served at Christmas.