tom thumb n
1 A large pork sausage usu cased with the stomach or part of the large intestine (esp the cecum) of a hog and dried and smoked. [It is possible that sense 2 below is actually the earlier, in which case it is perh an elaborated folk-etym for therm n.] chiefly NC Also called dandoodle n 1
1829 Ariel 3.70/1 sePA, A gentleman from South Carolina . . requested us to make an inventory of the things found in High street market, and as nearly as we can, we here enumerate them. . : . . terrapins, calves’ heads, and tom thumbs; whips, green corn, and English rabbits; [etc]. 1830 in 1832 Gem 4.131 NJ, Our repast . . consisted of . . an enormous species of sausage, called a Tom Thumb [etc]. 1871 Mason Young Housewife’s Counsellor 159 NC, On the inside of the leaf-fat . . is a broad sheet of skin, which . . will make a capital case for tom-thumbs, or large sausage. So also will the large intestine. Ibid 160, Your tom-thumbs should not be used till thoroughly dried, and then boiled; after which to be divested of their cases, and served either hot or cold. These should always be smoked. 1915 Coburn–Phillips Money with Hogs 45, The paunches, well cleaned and stuffed with sausage meat, hold about five pounds, and can be sold under the name of “Tom Thumbs” at regular country sausage prices. 1939 Harris Purslane 148 cNC, There was an abundance of old bacon ham, barbecued shoat, mutton, tom-thumb, boiled custard, and cake. [Footnote to tom thumb:] Sausage stuffed into big intestine casing. 1939 Wetumpka Herald (AL) 7 Dec 2/4, From this animal Mr. Bachelor made 200 pounds of lard and 125 pounds of sausage. Nothing is said about hams, chit’lin’s, tom thumbs, souse, spareribs, backbone, pig’s feet, and hog jowl. 1969 Eve. Telegram (Rocky Mount NC) 6 Mar sec D 7/6, [Advt:] Smoked Country Tom Thumbs, lb. .65. 1982 Smithfield Times (VA) 7 Apr 2/6, Home Style Tom Thumbs lb. $159. 1992 Eve. Telegram (Rocky Mount NC) 22 Apr 27/1, There were also some “Tom Thumbs” stuffed and hanging also. These are delicious sliced and fried just like sausage. The “Tom Thumb” is the secum [sic] of the large pig intenstine [sic] tied and stuffed. 2004 Metro Mag. (Raleigh NC) (Internet), I knew I had to come back when I saw rows of “Tom Thumbs” hanging in the cooler—pig’s stomachs (“maws,” as we called them) stuffed with sausage. . . On the farm, they hung in the smokehouse until special folks came, and you sliced and fried the dried sausage. 2005 DARE File—Internet ceNC (as of 1920s), Sometimes, they stuff large intestines [of a hog] and they are called “Tom Thumbs”. The sausage is dried and smoked. Ibid VA, A Dan Doodle (or Tom Thumb) is a unique, hickory-smoked sausage with natural casing we still sell today, mostly in rural areas. 2020 News & Observer (Raleigh NC) 23 Sept sec C 4/3, Future weeks will feature fish stew, chicken pastry, Tom Thumb, an oyster roast and other traditional Eastern North Carolina dishes.
2 The stomach or part of the large intestine (esp the cecum) of a hog, esp as a sausage casing. Also called dandoodle n 2
1887 U.S. Bur. Animal Industry Annual Rept. for 1886 300 SC, In some cases the descending colon or “Tom Thumb” was highly inflamed. . . The inflammation generally appeared more severe near the end of the “Tom Thumb,” or attachment of appendix vermiformis. 1893 Amer. Agric. 52.90/2 VA, Lay the sausage away, after it has been seasoned, until the great entrails and “tom thumbs” of the chitterlings are ready for use. 1913 McCulloch-Williams Dishes 57 Sth, The “Tom Thumbs” were in great request for chitterlings—I never saw them served to white folks but have smelled their savoriness in the cabins. 1949 News & Observer (Raleigh NC) 18 Dec sec 4 2/4, Everyone to his own tastes, says Mrs. Jackson. Liver pudding stuffed in big “tom thumbs” and souse meat from the feet and ears are all right. 2004 DARE File—Internet NC (as of 1943), Some of the meat was stuffed into the prepared stomachs of the hogs, which were called “dandoodles” or “tom thumbs,” for slow oven cooking later.
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