tommy-gun
1 of 2verb
tom·my-gun ˈtä-mē-ˌgən 
tommy-gunned; tommy-gunning; tommy-guns
transitive verb
: to shoot with a tommy gun
tommy gun
2 of 2noun
: thompson submachine gun
broadly : submachine gun
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
Paul Solotaroff, Rolling Stone, 30 Jan. 2022 The image of a mask-wearing authoritarian pointing a tommy gun at first looks like irresistible kitsch but now seems disturbingly accurate for the COVID apocalypse. Armond White, National Review, 20 Aug. 2021 In the 1930s, the fee doubled the cost of a new tommy gun. Adam Weinstein, The New Republic, 20 Apr. 2020 The decade was also rife with poisonous bathtub gin, murderous Mafia dons, and the merciless rat-a-tat of tommy guns, as well as myriad political and cultural struggles simmering beneath the surface. Kim Kelly, Teen Vogue, 17 Jan. 2020 The first patrolman on scene, John Ferry, was firing shotgun rounds at the second-story window when backup arrived with tommy guns, revolvers and tear gas. David M. Zimmer, USA TODAY, 28 Aug. 2019
Noun
On the back of the bottle was a ghost engraving: the original G-man in a fedora, toting a tommy gun. Paul Solotaroff, Rolling Stone, 30 Jan. 2022 The image of a mask-wearing authoritarian pointing a tommy gun at first looks like irresistible kitsch but now seems disturbingly accurate for the COVID apocalypse. Armond White, National Review, 20 Aug. 2021 In the 1930s, the fee doubled the cost of a new tommy gun. Adam Weinstein, The New Republic, 20 Apr. 2020 The decade was also rife with poisonous bathtub gin, murderous Mafia dons, and the merciless rat-a-tat of tommy guns, as well as myriad political and cultural struggles simmering beneath the surface. Kim Kelly, Teen Vogue, 17 Jan. 2020 The first patrolman on scene, John Ferry, was firing shotgun rounds at the second-story window when backup arrived with tommy guns, revolvers and tear gas. David M. Zimmer, USA TODAY, 28 Aug. 2019 Word History
Etymology
Noun
by shortening & alteration
First Known Use
Verb
1942, in the meaning defined above
Noun
1929, in the meaning defined above
tommy-gunning
verb
as in wiping out
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- wiping out
- pistolling
- doing in
- machine-gunning
- pistoling
- blotting out
- shotgunning
- killing
- picking off
- destroying
- bringing down
- slaying
- dispatching
- blowing away
- felling
- firing (at)
- blasting (at)
- shooting down
- slaughtering
- annihilating
- massacring
- icing
- potshotting
- blazing
- decimating
- gunning
- croaking
- butchering
- sniping (at)
- peppering
- drilling
- popping
- plugging
- shooting
- dropping
- take up arms
- take up residence
- take up the cudgels
- take up the cudgels for
- take up the gauntlet
- take up the slack
- take up with
- take wing
- take with a grain of salt
- take with a pinch of salt
- take years off
- take-all
- take-charge
- take-home
- take-home pay
- take-home pays
- take-in
- take-no-prisoners
- take-up
- take/borrow a leaf out of someone's book
- take/claim someone's life
- take/find/seek refuge
- take/follow the path/line of least resistance
- take/get one's name from
- take/get/keep one's mind off