long Tom (plural long Toms)
- (historical) Any of various early cannon and field guns.
1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island:What he would do afterwards — whether he would try to crawl right across the island from North Inlet to the camp among the swamps or whether he would fire Long Tom, trusting that his own comrades might come first to help him — was, of course, more than I could say.
- (photography) A high-powered lens for long-distance filming or photography.
1976, David Hodgson, All about action photography, page 43:Digging around second-hand shops you may come across an old newspaper or picture agency 'Long Tom' lens.
1983, The Photographic Collector, volumes 4-5, page 87:One of the last 'Long Toms' produced for Fleet Street, it was used by a Daily Mirror photographer on Coronation Day, 2 June 1953.
