Eats, ROOTS, shoots and leaves

[origin]

It's "Eats, roots, shoots and leaves", as any Australian can tell you.

The English variant "Eats, shoots and leaves" is but a pale backformation
with a weak joke added to make it understandable to those who don't know
what "root" means.

The whole point of this very old joke is that the word "root" is an
Australian vulgarism exactly equivalent in meaning to "fuck". It's a taboo
word, although not nearly as taboo as "fuck". It's equivalent to the
American "screw", I suppose.

I can "root" a girl, have a "root" with her, or complain that my gearbox is
"rooted".

This joke has been around on T-shirts for thirty years, usually accompanied
by a cartoon of a leaf-chomping koala attempting coitus with another koala
(or a kangaroo, as the case may be.....)

(... or a sheep, perhaps, in the New Zealand version.............)

[Stewart Gargis]

Post by origin
It's "Eats, roots, shoots and leaves", as any Australian can tell you.
The English variant "Eats, shoots and leaves" is but a pale backformation
with a weak joke added to make it understandable to those who don't know
what "root" means.
The whole point of this very old joke is that the word "root" is an
Australian vulgarism exactly equivalent in meaning to "fuck". It's a taboo
word, although not nearly as taboo as "fuck". It's equivalent to the
American "screw", I suppose.
I can "root" a girl, have a "root" with her, or complain that my gearbox is
"rooted".
This joke has been around on T-shirts for thirty years, usually accompanied
by a cartoon of a leaf-chomping koala attempting coitus with another koala
(or a kangaroo, as the case may be.....)
(... or a sheep, perhaps, in the New Zealand version.............)

This version of the joke makes more sense and is a lot funnier.

[Robert Bannister]

Post by origin
It's "Eats, roots, shoots and leaves", as any Australian can tell you.
The English variant "Eats, shoots and leaves" is but a pale backformation
with a weak joke added to make it understandable to those who don't know
what "root" means.
The whole point of this very old joke is that the word "root" is an
Australian vulgarism exactly equivalent in meaning to "fuck". It's a taboo
word, although not nearly as taboo as "fuck". It's equivalent to the
American "screw", I suppose.
I can "root" a girl, have a "root" with her, or complain that my gearbox is
"rooted".
This joke has been around on T-shirts for thirty years, usually accompanied
by a cartoon of a leaf-chomping koala attempting coitus with another koala
(or a kangaroo, as the case may be.....)

I've only ever seen wombats.

[Duggy]

Post by Robert Bannister

Post by origin
This joke has been around on T-shirts for thirty years, usually accompanied
by a cartoon of a leaf-chomping koala attempting coitus with another koala
(or a kangaroo, as the case may be.....)

I've only ever seen wombats.

Wombats, yeah.

But mainly as a nickname.

===
= DUG.
===

[The Grammer Genious]

It's "Eats, roots, shoots and leaves", as any Australian can tell you. <...>

But the overwhelming majority of the English-speaking world is
not interested in amusing the Australians, so it makes good sense
to eliminate the "roots" part. The joke still works, and doesn't
have to be explained.

\\P. Schultz

[Duggy]

Post by The Grammer Genious

It's "Eats, roots, shoots and leaves", as any Australian can tell you. <...>

But the overwhelming majority of the English-speaking world is
not interested in amusing the Australians, so it makes good sense
to eliminate the "roots" part. The joke still works, and doesn't
have to be explained.

I think it works better with "roots" in it, but yeah, not explaining it is
an important feature.

===
= DUG.
===

[Jonathan Miller]

Post by origin
It's "Eats, roots, shoots and leaves", as any Australian can tell you.
The English variant "Eats, shoots and leaves" is but a pale backformation
with a weak joke added to make it understandable to those who don't know
what "root" means.
The whole point of this very old joke is that the word "root" is an
Australian vulgarism exactly equivalent in meaning to "fuck". It's a taboo
word, although not nearly as taboo as "fuck". It's equivalent to the
American "screw", I suppose.

So what do you do with roots? Do you have no rooting animals?

Or is it one of those "two-way" words?

Jon "Root hog or die" Miller

[Duggy]

Post by Jonathan Miller
So what do you do with roots? Do you have no rooting animals?
Or is it one of those "two-way" words?

Multiple meanings.

Hense when I work at a scientist lab preparing sugarcane roots for
analysis, my reply to "what do you do?" was "I sort roots."

===
= DUG.
===

[R H Draney]

Post by Duggy
Hense when I work at a scientist lab preparing sugarcane roots for
analysis, my reply to "what do you do?" was "I sort roots."

Tell them you "engage in radical activities"....r

[Martin Watts]

Post by Duggy

Post by Jonathan Miller
So what do you do with roots? Do you have no rooting animals?
Or is it one of those "two-way" words?

Multiple meanings.
Hense when I work at a scientist lab preparing sugarcane roots for
analysis, my reply to "what do you do?" was "I sort roots."

On a mailing list I belong to the australians always profess
amusement when an American writes of rooting for a baseball or football
team.

[Robert Bannister]

Post by Martin Watts

Post by Duggy

Post by Jonathan Miller
So what do you do with roots? Do you have no rooting animals?
Or is it one of those "two-way" words?

Multiple meanings.
Hense when I work at a scientist lab preparing sugarcane roots for
analysis, my reply to "what do you do?" was "I sort roots."

On a mailing list I belong to the australians always profess
amusement when an American writes of rooting for a baseball or football
team.

They should treat cheerleaders with more respect.

[Richard Bollard]

On Sat, 17 Apr 2004 23:13:02 -0700, "Jonathan Miller"

Post by Jonathan Miller
So what do you do with roots? Do you have no rooting animals?
Or is it one of those "two-way" words?

We don't root, we barrack.

[Evan Kirshenbaum]

Post by origin
It's "Eats, roots, shoots and leaves", as any Australian can tell you.
The English variant "Eats, shoots and leaves" is but a pale
backformation with a weak joke added to make it understandable to
those who don't know what "root" means.
The whole point of this very old joke is that the word "root" is an
Australian vulgarism exactly equivalent in meaning to "fuck". It's
a taboo word, although not nearly as taboo as "fuck". It's
equivalent to the American "screw", I suppose.

That's all well and good, but as far as I know, koalas *don't* eat
roots, while they do eat leaves and shoots. So "Eats shoots and
leaves" is something that one might actually encounter, leading to the
joke. I suspect that the Aussie version came later.
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |To find the end of Middle English,
1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |you discover the exact date and
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |time the Great Vowel Shift took
|place (the morning of May 5, 1450,
***@hpl.hp.com |at some time between neenuh fiftehn
[phone] |and nahyn twenty-fahyv).
| Kevin Wald
http://www.kirshenbaum.net/

[Martin Watts]

Post by Evan Kirshenbaum

Post by origin
It's "Eats, roots, shoots and leaves", as any Australian can tell you.
The English variant "Eats, shoots and leaves" is but a pale
backformation with a weak joke added to make it understandable to
those who don't know what "root" means.
The whole point of this very old joke is that the word "root" is an
Australian vulgarism exactly equivalent in meaning to "fuck". It's
a taboo word, although not nearly as taboo as "fuck". It's
equivalent to the American "screw", I suppose.

That's all well and good, but as far as I know, koalas *don't* eat
roots, while they do eat leaves and shoots. So "Eats shoots and
leaves" is something that one might actually encounter, leading to the
joke. I suspect that the Aussie version came later.

The original joke is about the wombat. I've just checked on the
diet of these creatures and found that:

"The diet of the wombat is composed entirely of plant material. Its main
food is native grasses but shrubs, roots, sedges, bark and herbs are also
eaten, while moss seems to be a particular delicacy. At times of food
shortages they may dig up sections of dead grass to get at the roots."

See: http://www.dpiwe.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/WebPages/BHAN-53F7KJ?open

In the context of the joke I've taken "shoots" to be something that comes
after "roots". That works far better than the bowdlerised version.

[Robert Bannister]

Post by Evan Kirshenbaum

Post by origin
It's "Eats, roots, shoots and leaves", as any Australian can tell you.
The English variant "Eats, shoots and leaves" is but a pale
backformation with a weak joke added to make it understandable to
those who don't know what "root" means.
The whole point of this very old joke is that the word "root" is an
Australian vulgarism exactly equivalent in meaning to "fuck". It's
a taboo word, although not nearly as taboo as "fuck". It's
equivalent to the American "screw", I suppose.

That's all well and good, but as far as I know, koalas *don't* eat
roots, while they do eat leaves and shoots. So "Eats shoots and
leaves" is something that one might actually encounter, leading to the
joke. I suspect that the Aussie version came later.

That's because it's not koalas, but wombats who do eat roots, shoots and
leaves.

[Dylan Nicholson]

Post by Robert Bannister

Post by Evan Kirshenbaum
That's all well and good, but as far as I know, koalas *don't* eat
roots, while they do eat leaves and shoots. So "Eats shoots and
leaves" is something that one might actually encounter, leading to the
joke. I suspect that the Aussie version came later.

That's because it's not koalas, but wombats who do eat roots, shoots and
leaves.

At the risk of being horribly obvious, the actual joke as I've heard
it, in it's full bra-burning glory, goes:

"Why is an Australian male like a wombat? 'Cos 'e eats roots shoots
'n' leaves".

Personally I would have though "Cos 'e eats roots and shoots" would be
enough, seeing as 'shoots' would most obviously mean 'departs' in this
context.
As it is I assume 'shoots' refers to taking aim at the proverbial
porcelain, although I can imagine other possible interpretations.

I had been tempted to explain it earlier, but no-one asked...

Dylan

[Duggy]

Post by Dylan Nicholson
Personally I would have though "Cos 'e eats roots and shoots" would be
enough, seeing as 'shoots' would most obviously mean 'departs' in this
context.
As it is I assume 'shoots' refers to taking aim at the proverbial
porcelain, although I can imagine other possible interpretations.

I always assumed the other. He roots until he shoots then he leaves...


===
= DUG.
===

[Robert Lieblich]

Post by Duggy

Post by Dylan Nicholson
Personally I would have though "Cos 'e eats roots and shoots" would be
enough, seeing as 'shoots' would most obviously mean 'departs' in this
context.
As it is I assume 'shoots' refers to taking aim at the proverbial
porcelain, although I can imagine other possible interpretations.

I always assumed the other. He roots until he shoots then he leaves...

Ms. Truss was interviewed by Bob Edwards (may his contract be
renewed unto eternity) on Morning Edition today. Her explanation of
the title is rooted in this joke: Panda walks into a bar, orders a
meal and consumes it, pulls out a pistol and shoots the bartender,
starts to walk out. Someone asks it why it did as it did. Panda
shows ill-punctuated book in which it says: "Panda -- large
bear-like animal; eats, shoots and leaves." I can't recall anything
else she said worth mentioning. She sounded quite good-humored --
laughed a lot -- and quite surprised at the success of her little
treatise.

There's a review of her book in the forthcoming NYTimes Book Review,
which will probably hit the Web late this coming Saturday. It's by
Edmund Morris, he of the TR biography and *Dutch*. He was
unimpressed.

[Duggy]

Post by Robert Lieblich
Ms. Truss was interviewed by Bob Edwards (may his contract be
renewed unto eternity) on Morning Edition today. Her explanation of
the title is rooted in this joke: Panda walks into a bar, orders a
meal and consumes it, pulls out a pistol and shoots the bartender,
starts to walk out. Someone asks it why it did as it did. Panda
shows ill-punctuated book in which it says: "Panda -- large
bear-like animal; eats, shoots and leaves." I can't recall anything
else she said worth mentioning. She sounded quite good-humored --
laughed a lot -- and quite surprised at the success of her little
treatise.

Well, in Australia, I don't think we mean food with the "Eats."

It's all sex then pissing off.

===
= DUG.
===

[Dylan Nicholson]

Post by Duggy
Well, in Australia, I don't think we mean food with the "Eats."

Gotta disagree with you there. Men who "eat" by your definition are
definitely going a step further than the idea of an unsophisticated
bloke who's
just interested in satisfying his own primitive bodily needs.

Dylan

[Duggy]

Post by Dylan Nicholson

Post by Duggy
Well, in Australia, I don't think we mean food with the "Eats."

Gotta disagree with you there. Men who "eat" by your definition are
definitely going a step further than the idea of an unsophisticated
bloke who's just interested in satisfying his own primitive bodily needs.

Then why the picture of the 69ing Koalas on the T?

Even within the group of sexually-selfish men there are those who see
cunnilingus as not only enjoyable but desirable.

But sure, I guess it could been "makes her cook for him, fucks her,
ejaculates and pisses off"

===
= DUG.
===

[Dylan Nicholson]

Post by Duggy

Post by Dylan Nicholson

Post by Duggy
Well, in Australia, I don't think we mean food with the "Eats."

Gotta disagree with you there. Men who "eat" by your definition are
definitely going a step further than the idea of an unsophisticated
bloke who's just interested in satisfying his own primitive bodily needs.

Then why the picture of the 69ing Koalas on the T?

As suggested, given that Koalas don't actually eat roots (and possibly
even shoots), the Koala is probably a later addition to the joke. I
haven't seen the T-shirt in question however.

Post by Duggy
Even within the group of sexually-selfish men there are those who see
cunnilingus as not only enjoyable but desirable.

Of course, but it's not the usual way a 'blokey' male satisfies his
primitive sexual urges.

Post by Duggy
But sure, I guess it could been "makes her cook for him, fucks her,
ejaculates and pisses off"

Well that, or urinates, is certainly how I always interpreted it.

Dylan

[Freddy]

Post by Dylan Nicholson

Post by Duggy

Post by Dylan Nicholson

Post by Duggy
Well, in Australia, I don't think we mean food with the "Eats."

Gotta disagree with you there. Men who "eat" by your definition are
definitely going a step further than the idea of an unsophisticated
bloke who's just interested in satisfying his own primitive bodily needs.

Then why the picture of the 69ing Koalas on the T?

As suggested, given that Koalas don't actually eat roots (and possibly
even shoots), the Koala is probably a later addition to the joke. I
haven't seen the T-shirt in question however.

I always heard it as "He makes love like a wombat ..."

The idea was about foraging about in someone's pants and bra "going
the grope" and finishing up quickly.

Post by Dylan Nicholson

Post by Duggy
Even within the group of sexually-selfish men there are those who see
cunnilingus as not only enjoyable but desirable.

I've never heard this interpretation before.

Post by Dylan Nicholson
Of course, but it's not the usual way a 'blokey' male satisfies his
primitive sexual urges.

True

Post by Dylan Nicholson

Post by Duggy
But sure, I guess it could been "makes her cook for him, fucks her,
ejaculates and pisses off"

That's the one I'm familiar with.

Post by Dylan Nicholson
Well that, or urinates, is certainly how I always interpreted it.
Dylan

No ...


The Nerk

[Duggy]

Post by Freddy
The idea was about foraging about in someone's pants and bra "going
the grope" and

Which part of "Eats, Roots, Shoots and Leaves" is that?

Post by Freddy
finishing up quickly.

That'd be "Shoots and Leaves"

Post by Freddy

Post by Dylan Nicholson

Post by Duggy
Even within the group of sexually-selfish men there are those who see
cunnilingus as not only enjoyable but desirable.

I've never heard this interpretation before.

I have. There you go.

Post by Freddy

Post by Dylan Nicholson
Of course, but it's not the usual way a 'blokey' male satisfies his
primitive sexual urges.

True

I must know a completely different set of Blokey guys. Or the stories
they tell don't match their actions.

Post by Freddy

Post by Dylan Nicholson

Post by Duggy
But sure, I guess it could been "makes her cook for him, fucks her,
ejaculates and pisses off"

That's the one I'm familiar with.

Fair enough.

Post by Freddy

Post by Dylan Nicholson
Well that, or urinates, is certainly how I always interpreted it.

No ...

I'm not sure where he got that.

===
= DUG.
===

[Freddy]

Post by Duggy

Post by Freddy
The idea was about foraging about in someone's pants and bra "going
the grope" and

Which part of "Eats, Roots, Shoots and Leaves" is that?

I guess that would be the "eats" part of the metaphor. Although, as
you note below most of us see the human getting a cooked meal from the
female. I can imagine a bit of playfulness in the construction
however.

Post by Duggy

Post by Freddy
finishing up quickly.
That'd be "Shoots and Leaves"

Post by Dylan Nicholson

Post by Duggy
Even within the group of sexually-selfish men there are those who see
cunnilingus as not only enjoyable but desirable.

I've never heard this interpretation before.

I have. There you go.

Post by Freddy

Post by Dylan Nicholson
Of course, but it's not the usual way a 'blokey' male satisfies his
primitive sexual urges.

True

I must know a completely different set of Blokey guys. Or the stories
they tell don't match their actions.

Quite probably. I think there are distinct sets of guys who think it's
worthwhile boasting of their "muff diving" expertise. Mind you, I'm
not often amongst guys who think discussing details of their sex lives
is table talk. I don't really hang out with blokey guys, if I can
manage it. I work with some, and for all I know, perhaps they talk
this way. Consider my locus standi in this area "in doubt".

Post by Duggy

Post by Freddy

Post by Dylan Nicholson

Post by Duggy
But sure, I guess it could been "makes her cook for him, fucks her,
ejaculates and pisses off"

That's the one I'm familiar with.

Fair enough.

Post by Freddy

Post by Dylan Nicholson
Well that, or urinates, is certainly how I always interpreted it.

No ...

I'm not sure where he got that.

He was probably reading "pissing off" eccentrically.

Post by Duggy
===
= DUG.
===

The Nerk

[Duggy]

Post by Freddy

Post by Duggy

Post by Freddy
The idea was about foraging about in someone's pants and bra "going
the grope" and

Which part of "Eats, Roots, Shoots and Leaves" is that?

I guess that would be the "eats" part of the metaphor.

I still don't see it.

Post by Freddy

Post by Duggy

Post by Freddy

Post by Dylan Nicholson
Of course, but it's not the usual way a 'blokey' male satisfies his
primitive sexual urges.

True

I must know a completely different set of Blokey guys. Or the stories
they tell don't match their actions.

Quite probably. I think there are distinct sets of guys who think it's
worthwhile boasting of their "muff diving" expertise. Mind you, I'm
not often amongst guys who think discussing details of their sex lives
is table talk. I don't really hang out with blokey guys, if I can
manage it. I work with some, and for all I know, perhaps they talk
this way. Consider my locus standi in this area "in doubt".

I don't like to hang around these guys, but sometimes you're forced into
these situations.

I'll say, that, yeah, they could be all talk on this matter, but at the
same time, Eat, Roots, Shoots and Leaves is likely to be a mantra they use
to describe themselves...

Maybe the differences is that ERS&L when claimed by a bloke is Eats Muff,
but when used by someone as a comment on these types of guys is Demands
Food...

Post by Freddy

Post by Duggy

Post by Freddy

Post by Dylan Nicholson
Well that, or urinates, is certainly how I always interpreted it.

No ...

I'm not sure where he got that.

He was probably reading "pissing off" eccentrically.

Ah.

===
= DUG.
===

[Duggy]

Post by Dylan Nicholson
Of course, but it's not the usual way a 'blokey' male satisfies his
primitive sexual urges.

Then we've experienced different blokey males describing their exploits.

Post by Dylan Nicholson

Post by Duggy
But sure, I guess it could been "makes her cook for him, fucks her,
ejaculates and pisses off"

Well that, or urinates, is certainly how I always interpreted it.

Urinated? Which part is that?

===
= DUG.
===

[Dylan Nicholson]

Post by Robert Lieblich

Post by Duggy

Post by Dylan Nicholson
Personally I would have though "Cos 'e eats roots and shoots" would be
enough, seeing as 'shoots' would most obviously mean 'departs' in this
context.
As it is I assume 'shoots' refers to taking aim at the proverbial
porcelain, although I can imagine other possible interpretations.

I always assumed the other. He roots until he shoots then he leaves...

Ms. Truss was interviewed by Bob Edwards (may his contract be
renewed unto eternity) on Morning Edition today. Her explanation of
the title is rooted in this joke: Panda walks into a bar, orders a
meal and consumes it, pulls out a pistol and shoots the bartender,
starts to walk out. Someone asks it why it did as it did. Panda
shows ill-punctuated book in which it says: "Panda -- large
bear-like animal; eats, shoots and leaves." I can't recall anything
else she said worth mentioning. She sounded quite good-humored --
laughed a lot -- and quite surprised at the success of her little
treatise.

Nah...definitely not as funny as the Aussie version :-)
She had enough example though: "Residents Refuse to Go in the Bins".
No explain required, I hope.

Btw I came across a word on one site while googling around for related
matter, where someone used the word 'thingy' as an adjective to mean
'persnickety'. I had heard it used like this before, but it did stand
out as a slightly unusual usage. I can't find a single dictionary
online with 'thingy' even as an entry - surprisingly, seeing as a
noun, it's surely quite common (I'd even say more so than
thingamabob).

Anyone know if this use of the term is a regionalism?

Dylan

[Dr Robin Bignall]

On Wed, 21 Apr 2004 19:20:22 -0400, Robert Lieblich

Post by Robert Lieblich

Post by Duggy

Post by Dylan Nicholson
Personally I would have though "Cos 'e eats roots and shoots" would be
enough, seeing as 'shoots' would most obviously mean 'departs' in this
context.
As it is I assume 'shoots' refers to taking aim at the proverbial
porcelain, although I can imagine other possible interpretations.

I always assumed the other. He roots until he shoots then he leaves...

Ms. Truss was interviewed by Bob Edwards (may his contract be
renewed unto eternity) on Morning Edition today. Her explanation of
the title is rooted in this joke: Panda walks into a bar, orders a
meal and consumes it, pulls out a pistol and shoots the bartender,
starts to walk out. Someone asks it why it did as it did. Panda
shows ill-punctuated book in which it says: "Panda -- large
bear-like animal; eats, shoots and leaves." I can't recall anything
else she said worth mentioning. She sounded quite good-humored --
laughed a lot -- and quite surprised at the success of her little
treatise.
There's a review of her book in the forthcoming NYTimes Book Review,
which will probably hit the Web late this coming Saturday. It's by
Edmund Morris, he of the TR biography and *Dutch*. He was
unimpressed.

She used to have a regular column in The Times, but I've not noticed one
since the book took off.

[Dylan Nicholson]

I had a horrible sinking sensation when I posted my reply to this, as
just as I watched it disappear into the aether I noticed an apostrophe
exactly where Ms. Truss would (justifiably) have a pink fit over it
being.

My humblest apologies.

Won't happen again.

Dylan