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tomato can

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tomato can

Where it comes from

Presumably because of tendency to bleed when battered, tomato juice leaking from a can being a metaphor for bleeding.

noun tomato cans

  1. derogatory, slang An inferior fighter in the sport of boxing. The insinuation is that an up-and-coming fighter takes on a "tomato can" to burnish his reputation and record.
  2. slang By extension, an opponent who presents little challenge.
  3. slang A boxer who takes a dive, or loses a fight on purpose.

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MLA

"tomato can." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tomato%20can. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

tomato can. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tomato%20can

Chicago

"tomato can." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tomato%20can.

BibTeX
@misc{tomato_can_2026,
  title = {tomato can},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tomato%20can},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}