tree-killer

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing

<jargon, abuse> (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"

(http://sf.www.lysator.liu.se/sf_archive/sf-texts/SF_resource_guide/sfrgft.htm)}. 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]

(1999-11-03)

The Jargon File

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.

It is likely that both senses derive their flavor from the epithet ‘tree-killer’ applied by Treebeard the Ent to the Orcs in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. See also elvish, elder days, and especially dead-tree version.