Tom Tiddler's ground
1. A children's game in which a player (dubbed "Tom Tiddler") must catch other players who try to invade or cross into their area to "steal" their imaginary gold. I remember being kids and playing games like Tom Tiddler's ground or hopscotch. Nowadays, kids just sit around on their phones watching videos online.
2. By extension, an area or situation in which one may make significant profits but is or might be at risk or in danger. The region has become something of a Tom Tiddler's ground for the three major countries surrounding it, each one claiming of its resources as their own. The deregulation created a Tom Tiddler's ground for corporations who exploited every avenue possible to maximize profits, though such an unstable market eventually lead to one of the largest economic crashes in history.
Tommy Atkins
A British soldier. The term originated in manuals once sent to British soldiers, in which the name used as an example was "Tommy Atkins" (as opposed to "John Doe"). In his younger years, my grandfather was a Tommy Atkins.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
Tom Tiddler's ground
a place where money or profit is readily made. Tom Tiddler's ground was the name of a children's game in which one of the players, named Tom Tiddler, marked out their territory by drawing a line on the ground. The other players ran over this line calling out ‘We're on Tom Tiddler's ground, picking up gold and silver’. They were then chased by Tom Tiddler and the first (or, sometimes, the last) to be caught took his or her place.
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