tree-killer

(Sun) 1. A printer.

2. A person who wastes paper. This epithet should be interpreted in a broad sense; "wasting paper" includes the production of spiffy but content-free documents. Thus, most suits are tree-killers.

This term may derive from J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings". in which Treebeard the Ent uses it to refer to the orcs' master, Saruman of Isengard. Saruman represents, among other things, technology at its most misguided.

See also: dead tree.

[Jargon File]