A tool: (noun) a person who is impressionable, easily used by others; LOSER; WANNA-BE. “That guy is such a tool. He would do anything to be accepted.” (www.onlineslangdictionary.com)

A tool: (Noun) An idiot, a contemptible person. (The dictionary of slang)

The word tool has long been used in both the UK and US to describe someone in negative terms. It can even be heard in classic films, such as the 1987 comedy Withnail & I (When Withnail is pulled over by the police speeding on the motorway, ‘I’ comments, “You’re full of sctoch you silly tool”.)

So why am I telling you this?

Yesterday I read the tagline on the packaging of my new salad dressing shaker from Evasolo:

From Drop Box

As you can see, the packaging even includes a photo and the names of the two tools who designed the product. But don’t be put off, it really is a good product.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 at 9:38 am by Dan Elloway and is filed under Language. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.