I had read some Tom Swift books, and the author was famous for never using "said". Somehow this became exaggerated into a recognized joke form where the "said" substitute is a punning reference to the spoken sentence, and called a "Tom Swifty", such as:
"I just dropped the toothpaste," said Tom crestfallenly.
"Why did you wake me up in the middle of my coronary bypass surgery?", asked Tom halfheartedly.
"I have multiple personality disorder, " Tom said, being frank.
"I do love maples," Tom said sappily.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/tom-swifties-puns-that-turn-adverbs-into-punchlines

I think I had read them long ago in Reader's Digest or some such at my grandparents, and they had a little revival around the dinner table with my kids more recently, but I thought it might be a little obscure!