According to Bill Palmer, who edits and circulates the quarterly newsletter Word Watching (P.O. Box 386, Station Westmount, Montréal, Québec H3Z 2T5, Canada), Tom Swift was a hero in a series of boys' adventure books some years ago. Tom never simply said anything, but ‘said morosely’ and ‘said excitedly’. This adverbial inclination has led to a minor genre of word-play, the Tom Swiftie, as in: ‘I've lost my crutches,’ said Tom lamely.