tom and jerry shop
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A low drinking shop. Probably some allusion to Pierce Egan’s famous characters in his Life in London. Generally contracted to JERRY SHOP.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Where it’s used:
Origin
British & Irish English
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “tom and jerry shop” mean?
A low drinking shop. Probably some allusion to Pierce Egan’s famous characters in his Life in London. Generally contracted to JERRY SHOP.
Is “tom and jerry shop” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.