toco for yam

noun

Retribution; punishment.

Meanings

nountoco for yam (uncountable)

alternative toko for yam

  1. UKobsoleteslanguncountableRetribution; punishment.

Origin

See toco (“corporal punishment”); but the construction is uncertain and has been variously explained in slang dictionaries. It may have the sense of one thing given for another in retribution (like tit for tat), or may suggest a beating given instead of food (yam being food in West Indian pidgin).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

toco for yam. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/toco%20for%20yam

MLA

“toco for yam.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/toco%20for%20yam. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “toco for yam,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/toco%20for%20yam.

Source: toco for yam on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.