The Tom Swifty thread

[Guest]

For those who don't know what a "Tom Swifty" is, it's an old type of pun; a quoted statement where the manner in which something is being described as being said is, in itself, a pun on said quoted statement. For example:

"Pass me the shellfish," said Tom crabbily.

"We just struck oil!" Tom gushed.

"I love hot dogs," said Tom with relish.

"Get to the back of the ship," said Tom sternly.

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Well, let's get this party started, then.

"I need to finish tightening the bolts," said Tom wrenchingly.

[efaardvark]

There was a whole series of Tom Swift books.  I remember working my way through the whole shelf of them over the course of about a year in elementary school.  I think that was the first story (or set thereof) that I identified as "science fiction" and realized that I liked as a genre.