Meanings
alternative toko for yam
- 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
toco for yam. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/toco%20for%20yam
“toco for yam.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/toco%20for%20yam. Accessed November 5, 2026.
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.