1461
Tom Brown's Schooldays
toilet ,training n [U] the teaching of a young child when
and how to use the toilet
toilet ,water n [U] a pleasant-smelling but not very strong
PERFUME
toils /'tɔɪlz/ n [P] especially lit something in which one becomes
firmly trapped
to-ing and fro-ing /,tu:ɪŋ ən 'frəʊɪŋ/ also to-ings and
fro-ings pl. — n [U] infml busy unproductive activity: After a
lot of to-ing and fro-ing they reached a decision.
toke /təʊk/ v [I,T] infml to breathe in the smoke from a
MARIJUANA cigarette —toke n
to-ken /'təʊkən/ n 1 ([of]) an outward sign; something that
represents a fact, event, feeling etc: All the family wore black
as a token of their grief | Please accept this small gift as a
token of our gratitude. | They waved a white flag in token
of (=to show) surrender. 2 [of] something that acts as a
reminder; KEEPSAKE; SOUVENIR: My husband gave me a ring
as a token of our first meeting. 3 BrE || gift certificate AmE — a
sort of special ticket, usually fixed to a greetings card, which
one can exchange for the stated thing in a shop: a £10 record
token | a book token | a gift token (=that one can exchange for
anything in a particular shop) 4 a piece of metal used
instead of coins for a particular purpose → see also by the
same token (SAME)
token adj [A] 1 done or given as a small sign representing
something greater: a token payment 2 usually derog done or
given so as to seem acceptable: They made a token effort. | a
token gesture of support | It seemed to us she'd been invited
onto the committee as the token woman.
to-ken-ism /'təʊkənɪzəm/ n [U] derog the practice of giving
official favour to representatives of special groups in society
only to produce an appearance of fairness
To, Kill a 'Mockingbird (1960) a novel by the US writer
Harper Lee, which was later made into a film. The story is set
in the southern US state of Alabama and is about a white
lawyer, Atticus Finch, who defends an African-American man
who has been charged with the RAPE of a white woman. The
story deals with racial PREJUDICE, and especially with the
effect it has on children.
To-ky-o /'təʊkiəʊ/ the capital and largest city of Japan, and
its main financial and business centre. Population:
11,680,490 (1999). Tokyo is known for being one of the
largest and busiest cities in the world.
told /təʊld/ past tense & participle of TELL
tol-er-a-ble /'tɒlərəbəl||'tɑ:-/ adj fairly good or acceptable;
that can be tolerated → see also INTOLERABLE
tol-er-a-bly /'tɒlərəbli||'tɑ:-/ adv fml or pomp to a limited
degree; fairly: I feel tolerably well today.
tol-er-ance /'tɒlərəns||'tɑ:-/ n 1 [U(for, of, towards)] also tolera-
tion — apprec willingness to accept or allow behaviour,
beliefs, customs etc, which one does not like or agree with,
without opposition: Try and show some tolerance. | a country
with a reputation for tolerance towards religious minorities |
the government's tolerance of political dissent 2 [C;U(of, to)] the
ability to suffer pain, hardship etc, without being harmed or
damaged: Many old people have a very limited tolerance to
cold. 3 [C;U] tech the amount by which the measure of a value
can vary from the amount intended, without causing diffi-
culties: This machine part was built to a tolerance of 0.01
millimetres. (=if it is bigger or smaller by more than this
amount it will not fit or work properly) 4 [C;U(to, of)] tech the
degree to which a cell, animal, plant etc, can successfully
oppose the effect of a poison, drug etc
tol-er-ant /'tɒlərənt||'tɑ:-/ adj [(of, towards)] showing or prac-
tising tolerance: a tolerant father → see also INTOLERANT
—ly adv
tol-er-ate /'tɒləreɪt||'tɑ:-/ v [T] 1 to allow (something one
does not agree with) to be practised or done freely without
opposition; permit 2 to suffer (someone or something)
without complaining or becoming annoyed: I won't tolerate
your bad manners any longer. | He never could tolerate bores.
→ see BEAR (USAGE)
tol-er-a-tion /,tɒlə'reɪʃən||,tɑ:-/ n [U] TOLERANCE, especially
of religious beliefs or practices that are different from those
recognized by the state: religious toleration
to 'let BrE || for rent AmE → adj (of a house, flat or other
building) available to be rented: a 'To Let' sign
Tol-kien, J.R.R. /'tɒlki:n||'tɑ:l-/ (1892-1973) a British writer
and university teacher, known for his novels for children
(which are also popular with adults) about imaginary char-
acters who live in a strange, magical world, especially The
HOBBIT, and The LORD OF THE RINGS
toll /təʊl/ n 1 a tax paid for the right to use a road, HARBOUR
etc 2 [C usually sing.] the cost in health, life etc, of an illness,
an accident etc: the usual heavy death toll on the roads at
Christmas | Years of hardship and neglect had taken their
toll (on his health). (=harmed it)
toll v 1 [I;T] a) to ring (a bell) slowly and repeatedly b) (of
a bell) to be rung slowly and repeatedly 2 [T] (of a bell) to
tell or make known by doing this: The church bell tolled the
hour.
toll n [(the) the sound of a tolling bell
toll-booth /'təʊlbu:θ/ n a place where TOLLS are or were
collected
toll-free adj AmE (of a telephone call) paid for by the
organization receiving it rather than the person making it →
compare FREEPHONE —toll-free adv
toll-gate /'təʊlgeɪt/ n a gate across a road at which a TOLL
must be paid
toll-house cook-ie /,təʊlhaus 'kʊki/ also chocolate-
chip cookie n AmE a small, heavy cake (BISCUIT) which has
small pieces of chocolate in it
'toll road n a road on which a TOLL must be paid
toll-way /'təʊlwei/ n AmE a MOTORWAY often running a long
distance, which the motorist must pay to use: the Illinois
Tollway → see Cultural Note at HIGHWAY
Tol-pud-dle Mar-tyrs /,tɒlpʌdl 'mɑ:təz||,tɑ:lpʌdl
'mɑ:rtərz/ a group of six English farm workers who were put
in jail for organizing a TRADE UNION (=organization that
represents workers) in Tolpuddle, Dorset, in 1833-4. They
were sent to Australia as criminals, but many people pro-
tested and in 1836 the men were brought home and set free.
Tol-stoy, Count Leo /'tɒlstɔɪ||'təʊl-/ (1828-1910) a Russian
writer best known for his long novels WAR AND PEACE and
ANNA KARENINA
tom /tɒm/ n infml a male cat; TOMCAT: the ginger tom who lives
across the street
Tom, Dick and Harry every/any Tom, Dick and Harry
infml anyone at all, used especially when you mean that
something should be done only by particular people, not by
everyone: You can't expect him to tell every Tom, Dick and
Harry what he earns, can you?
tom-a-hawk /'tɒməh:k||'tɑ:-/ n a light AXE formerly used
by NATIVE AMERICANS in war and hunting → see picture at
AXE
Tom and Jerry trademark two characters in humorous CAR-
TOON films by HANNA BARBERA. Tom, who is a cat, is always
chasing Jerry, who is a mouse, but Jerry is more clever than
Tom and always finds ways of escaping.
to-ma-to /tə'mɑ:təʊ||'meɪ-/ n pl. -toes [C;U] a soft fleshy
juicy red fruit eaten raw or cooked as a vegetable: a pound of
tomatoes | a tomato salad → see picture at VEGETABLE
tomb /tu:m/ n a grave, especially a large decorative one built
to have a large space inside where the dead person is placed
Tomb of the Un'knowns, the a national MONUMENT in
Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, US, where
UNKNOWN SOLDIERS from World Wars I and II, the Korean
War, and the Vietnam War are buried. It represents all the US
people who died in those wars.
tom-bo-la /,tɒm'bəʊlə||,tɑ:m-/ n [U] especially BrE a game in
which tickets are chosen by chance to win prizes
Tom-bouc-tou /,tɒmbʊk'tu:|,tɑ:m-/ the correct name of
TIMBUKTU, a city in Mali, West Africa
tom-boy /'tɒmbɔɪ||'tɑ:rm-/ n a spirited young girl who enjoys
rough and noisy activities —ish adj
Tom, Brown's 'Schooldays (1857) a novel by Thomas
Hughes which describes life in a 19th century British PUBLIC
SCHOOL for UPPER-CLASS (=a private school). The main
character, Tom Brown, is shown as having high moral
values. It is also known for the character of FLASHMAN, who