I was surprised the other day to learn the Very Well-Versed Spouse didn’t know what a Tom Swifty was–did you?

It’s a “phrase in which a quoted sentence is linked by a pun to the manner in which it is represented as having been said.” Here are some examples:

“I manufacture tabletops” said Tom, counterproductively.
“I used to be a pilot,” Tom explained.
“Two heads are not better than one,” said Tom, single-mindedly.
“I’ll take the prisoner downstairs,” said Tom condescendingly.
“I’m afraid I flunked my electrocardiogram,” said Tom half-heartedly.
“I can’t remember what I was supposed to buy,” said Tom listlessly.

Get it? And I was thinking about those kind of punning sentences because my hero and heroine are having a little light-hearted verbal sparring, in-between the virgin auctions and the opium addiction, plus Abby Godwin made me laugh with her use of ‘cocky’ in her post on romance novel covers.

So I thought:

“Lick me,” she said cunningly.
“Have you ever seen a bigger one?” he asked cockily.
“Does this dress expose my best assets?” she asked titillatingly.

Can you think of any? And did you know what these phrases actually had a name, and weren’t just your lame uncle’s attempt at wit?

Megan

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