Where Did the Term Tomfoolery Come from?

It was from Thomas, The Fool, Skelton's behavior that the cliché 'tom-foolery' originated. Thomas Skelton was the 'Fool' or Jester of Muncaster Castle and spent many hours of his time sitting under this tree. When a traveller passed by he would speak with them and decide whether or not he liked them.

Who came up with Tom Foolery?

This is a wonderful word introduced by poet John Milton, with whose works I struggled in college. In the 1600s, Milton wrote the epic (as in endless) poem Paradise Lost. Pandemonium was Milton's name for the capital of the underworld. Now it has a lowercase "p" and has come to mean utter chaos.

When was the word tomfoolery first used?

The first known use of tomfoolery was in 1812.