Tom Swift

One of the best word games I've found is called Tom Swifties – I've only just discovered its name – and draws its title from a children's character called, yes, Tom Swift. He first appeared in 1910 in Tom Swift and his Motorcycle, an adventure hero created by Edward L Stratemeyer. Tom Swifties is a sometimes strained, and sometimes funny, punning challenge.

The game is a pastiche of the Tom Swift style, and uses adverbs to accompany ways of speaking. So, 'Try that direction,' Tom said pointedly; 'We like fairy tales,' said Tom's brothers grimly; 'There's no more rum at the bar,' Tom said dispiritedly. 'The doctor had to remove my left ventricle,' said Tom half-heartedly; 'I swallowed some of the glass from that broken window,' Tom said painfully. All good examples. My all-time favourite, however, has to be 'I've burned the dinner,' said Tom with panache.

A variation I've only recently encountered doesn't limit Tom Swifties to adverbs, but includes verbs, adjectives and nouns. Thus, 'I've created my own crossword,' Tom swore. A pretty poor example, but better ones include, 'We're here to arrest the Queen,' the soldiers cooed; 'I used to be a pilot,' Tom explained; 'This is the real male goose,' said Tom, producing the propaganda; and 'I'm nonplussed,' said the mathematician. My favourite of these is, 'That's a big whale,' said Captain Ahab, superficially. This last one takes some beating.