Noun
Tom Collins (plural Tom Collinses)
A cocktail containing gin, lemon juice, sugar and a splash of soda.
Tom Collins, another of Black’s interviewees, grew up poor in a family of 14 children. Source: Internet
Similar to The New York Zoo hoax of 1874, several newspapers propagated the very successful practical joke by printing stories containing false sightings of Tom Collins. Source: Internet
Some origin stories suggest that someone substituted champagne for soda water in a Tom Collins. Source: Internet
History An August 1891 article from the British weekly magazine Punch disparaging British physician Sir Morell Mackenzie for his claim that England was the originating country of the Tom Collins cocktail. Source: Internet
However, it should be noted that a drink called a John Collins did exist prior to the Tom Collins hoax of 1874. Source: Internet
In The Great Tom Collins hoax of 1874, as it became known, the speaker would encourage the listener to act foolishly by reacting to patent nonsense that the hoaxer deliberately presents as reality. Source: Internet