Tom and Jerry
n.— «Of course, one more permutation of eggnog needs to be addressed. How did the hot version come to be called a “Tom and Jerry”? When I was a kid in Minnesota, the eggnog my brothers and I furtively gulped right from the carton contained plenty of rum flavoring, but no actual alcohol. We couldn’t help noticing our parents sipped a warmed and considerably more alcoholic version, called Tom and Jerry, out of pressed-glass punch bowls at their Christmas parties.» —“Nothing but nog” by Eat and Drink: Robert Sietsema Salon Dec. 19, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
There was a time when William Shakespeare was just another little seven-year-old in school. Classes in his day were demanding — and all in Latin. A new book argues that this rigorous curriculum actually nurtured the creativity that later flourished...
In an article in The Atlantic magazine, humorist Mark Twain quoted a sing-songy bit of doggerel about conductors punching railroad fares that illustrates how colored paper has long been used to encode information. This is part of a complete episode...