Meanings
plural miners safety candlesticks
- A hand-forged iron tool used as a portable candle holder, most notably by miners to light their way in shafts; the spike of the tool could be driven into a wooden support frame or crack; known colloquially as a Sticking Tommy or Tommy Stick.
Synonyms: miner's candlestick, Sticking Tommy, Tommy Stick
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA hand-forged iron tool used as a portable candle holder, most notably by miners to light their way in shafts; the spike of the tool could be driven into a wooden support frame or crack; known colloquially as a Sticking Tommy or Tommy Stick.
Origin
From miners + safety + candlestick. Patented in 1872 by Theodore A. Washburn of Gold Hill, Nevada.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
miners safety candlestick. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/miners%20safety%20candlestick
“miners safety candlestick.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/miners%20safety%20candlestick. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “miners safety candlestick,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/miners%20safety%20candlestick.
Source: miners safety candlestick on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.