Calico in British usage since 1505 is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton.  It may also contain unseparated husk parts.  The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than canvas or denim.  However, it is still very cheap owing to its unfinished and undyed appearance.  It was made by the traditional weavers called cāliyans.  The raw fabric was dyed and printed in bright hues, and calico prints became popular in Europe.  Calico originated in Calicut, from which the name of the textile came, in South India, now Kerala, during the 11th century, where the cloth was known as "chaliyan".  It was mentioned in Indian literature by the 12th century when the polymath and writer Hemachandra described calico fabric prints with a lotus design.  Calico was woven using Gujarati cotton from Surat for both the warp and weft.  By the 15th century, calico from Gujarat made its appearance in Cairo, then capital of the Egypt Eyalet under the Ottoman Empire.  Trade with Europe followed from the 17th century onwards.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calico    

The Calico Mountains of California are a mountain range located in the Mojave Desert.  The range spans San Bernardino and Inyo counties in California.  The Calico Mountains are geologically colorful range that lie in a northwest-southeast direction, and are located just north of Barstow and Yermo, and of Interstate 15.  The Calico Mountains have been active in California mining history.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calico_Mountains_(California)    

There’s a saying in Barstow, California, a decaying city in the scorching Mojave Desert.  The Interstate here only goes in one direction:  Away.   But it’s the only place where ex-LAPD detective Beth McDade, after a staggering fall from grace, could get another badge–and a shot at redemption.  Over a century ago, and just a few miles further into the bleak landscape, a desperate stranger ended up in Calico, a struggling mining town, also hoping for a second chance.  His fate, all those years ago, is linked to Beth’s when she’s assigned two very different cases.   https://leegoldberg.com/portfolio/calico/    

Tom Swiftie  noun  Etymology  Referring to the Tom Swift series of books, whose authors frequently avoided the word "said" in favour of other constructions, +‎ -y.  Tom Swifty  (plural Tom Swifties)  A humorous phrase in which a supposed quotation is linked by a pun to the manner in which it is attributed

Examples

"We just struck oil!" Tom gushed.

"I'll have a martini," said Tom drily.

"I'd like my money back, and then some," said Tom with interest.

American publisher Edward Stratemeyer, author of Tom Swift, was born on October 4, 1862.   

Tom Swift is the main character of six series of American juvenile science fiction and adventure novels that emphasize science, invention, and technology. Inaugurated in 1910, the sequence of series comprises more than 100 volumes. The first Tom Swift–later, Tom Swift Sr.–was created by Edward Stratemeyer, the founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, a book packaging firm.  Tom's adventures have been written by various ghostwriters, beginning with Howard Garis.  Most of the books are credited to the collective pseudonym "Victor Appleton".  The 33 volumes of the second series use the pseudonym Victor Appleton II for the author. For this series, and some later ones, the main character is "Tom Swift Jr."  New titles have been published again from 2019 after a gap of about ten years, roughly the time that has passed before every resumption.  Most of the series emphasized Tom's inventions.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Swift    

October 6, 2025