Tommy gun

noun

1. Thompson submachine gun.

2. any submachine gun.

Tommy gun

noun

1. an informal name for Thompson sub-machine-gun

Word History and Origins

Origin of Tommy gun¹

First recorded in 1920–25; by shortening

Example Sentences

Roughly midway through, Pynchon’s characters hightail it all the way to proto-fascist Budapest, where shadows more lethal than any Tommy gun begin to encroach.

From Los Angeles Times

He’ll take fire from several Tommy guns and flee a Klan rally.

From New York Times

It found that the product's bottle, which is shaped like a Thompson submachine gun - commonly known as a Tommy gun - created "a direct link between the drink and a dangerous weapon".

From BBC

Other historical targets of regulation have included long-bladed Bowie knives and the Thompson submachine gun, or Tommy gun, popular with gangsters in the years after World War I.

From Washington Times

The time is 1929, a time of bootleggers and Tommy guns, and Velma has, as they used to say, done her man wrong.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• submachine gun