tongman

[tawng-muhn, tong-]

noun

plural

tongmen 

1. a member of a Chinese tong.

Word History and Origins

Origin of tongman¹

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; tong ² + man

Example Sentences

Brown and Sprague acknowledge that their harvests are bigger than the average tongman's.

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The culprit talked freely about a much more interesting compatriot named Chin Joo Hip in Butte, Mont. Chin Joo Hip, a wrinkled, cadaverous tongman with drooping white mustaches, received a call from the agent, who pretended to be the nephew of a rich Pacific Coast gangster.

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Of this daring feat no tongman seems to tire.

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