Dictionary

peeping Thomasina en · NOUN

Etymology

By replacing tom with the feminine form of Thomas.

Meanings

1. A female peeping tom.
   • So she’s your friend’s daughter. At first I thought she was another of those peeping Thomasinas from the forest reserve. 2002 April 9, Suzanne North, chapter 8, in Bones to Pick (A Phoebe Fairfax Mystery; 3), Toronto, Ont.: McClelland & Stewart, →ISBN, page 120:
   • The two females, at least, see a great deal through their window, and whether he was aware of it or not, Barrie presents them as an intolerable couple of gossips and peeping Thomasinas. 1951, George Blake, chapter V, in Barrie and the Kailyard School (The English Novelists), London: Arthur Barker Ltd., →OCLC, page 72:
   • “I don’t stare at her,” Steve insisted quickly. “It’s just that every once in a while she is looking at me when I look out the window.” / “A peeping Thomasina.” / “Now, Harry.” / “Well, it’s her name. Elizabeth Thomas.” 1949, Isabella Taves, “That Unpredictable Look”, in The American Magazine, volume CXLVII, Springfield, Oh.: The Crowell-Collier Publishing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 38:
   • When the matchstick bamboo blind is raised this morning to reveal the interiors of the rooms—they are situated on the store’s main floor—a lot of peeping Thomasinas are likely to find their eyes popping with envy. 1958 January 29, “Decorating Small Apartment Is a Big Problem; Solution Is Tied to Coloring, Furniture Scale and Texture”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 08 Jul 2025:

Forms