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Oct 26, 2021
This week’s theme
Words coined after fairy tales and folktales

This week’s words
breadcrumb
Tom Thumb
Domdaniel
Chicken Licken
open sesame

Tom Thumb
Tom Thumb (1958) film poster
Image: Wikimedia

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

Tom Thumb

PRONUNCIATION:
(tom THUM)

MEANING:
noun:
1. A very short person.
2. An insignificant or unimportant person, especially one who lacks the power or ability in spite of high rank.

ETYMOLOGY:
After Tom Thumb, the hero of many folktales, who is the size of his father’s thumb. Earliest documented use: 1579. Also see lilliput and lilliputian.

USAGE:
“He can’t wear clothes built for a giant, nor for a Tom Thumb either.”
James P. Blaylock; Land of Dreams; JABberwocky Literary Agency; 2012.

See more usage examples of Tom Thumb in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
No government can love a child, and no policy can substitute for a family's care. But at the same time, government can either support or undermine families as they cope with moral, social, and economic stresses of caring for children. -Hillary Clinton, secretary of state and senator (b. 26 Oct 1947)

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