Where "Tom Collins" Comes From
“Tom Collins” was an Australian slang word for a rumour. Green’s Dictionary of Slang says the name comes from a mythical figure to whom rumours and dubious information were attributed, around 1890 in the south-eastern states.
The earliest Australian example in Green’s is from 1894 in the Perth Inquirer & Commercial News, which describes a joke where people are sent looking for a supposed gossip who turns out to be a myth. A 1895 slang dictionary by Crowe describes the same “fellow about town” whom many tried to confront, who always vanished and was imaginary. Green’s also has a 1874 New York example (“Where’s Tom Collins?”), so the joke was not only Australian, but Green’s tags the rumour sense Australian. In 1945 Sidney Baker listed “Tom Collins” among Australian words for rumour, and a 1972 book on pub folklore quotes “I got it from Tom Collins” as a popular saying in Melbourne pubs in the 1890s. Green’s also notes that the writer Joseph Furphy later used “Tom Collins” as his pen name, and his brother John made the water carts that gave us “furphy”.
Source:
“That story about the pub closing is just another Tom Collins.”
How Aussies Actually Use It
Green’s latest dated examples are from 1945 and 1972, and both describe it as an old saying, so it is an old word. For a rumour word that is still in common use, see “furphy”.
Say It Like an Aussie
Say it: TOM KOL-inz.
In conversation:
- That story about the pub closing was just a Tom Collins.
- It’s only a Tom Collins.
- Who started that Tom Collins?
Good to know: It’s an old word for a rumour. You’ll mostly find it in old newspapers.
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