Where did that saying come from?
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Tom was spying on Little Bo Peep.
I found out when looking into the term “tomboy” that a “tom” was a term for a boisterous and unruly boy. The word “tom” does come from tomcat as others have said because unneutered tomcats are often loud and unruly. I suspect Peeping Tom has a similar “tom” origin: an unruly boy that peeps on girls.
Peeping Tom, being Frank, Ruthless, smart Alec. I like to think that each saying started out with a particularly notable person.
I guess like the Goths, the Franks were a barbarian tribe, who were presumably reasonably direct and… frank, compared to sophisticated imperial types.
