tree-killer n. [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 suit s 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.