# Disappointed after misreading

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointed-after-misreading/809362>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [February 22, 2018, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointed-after-misreading/809362 "2018-02-22T19:39:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointed-after-misreading/809362/1 "2018-02-22T19:39:13Z")

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I was away on business on Valentine’s Day. On returning home, I saw a cardboard box in the garage that I assumed was my Valentine’s Day present from my wife. Part of the writing on the box was obscured by the shipping label. It said “R[sticker]ot Assassin”. I thought, cool! My wife got me a Robot Assassin! And I immediately started thinking about who I wanted to have taken out.

Turns out, it was “Root Assassin”, some kind of gardening tool she had ordered. ☹

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**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointed-after-misreading/809362/2 "2018-02-22T20:57:06Z")

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Are you sure it’s a gardening implement? It really does sound like the adorable sapling of a small sentient plant creature that will grow up to be a huge tree-like assassin, impaling and strangling your enemies while shouting “I AM ROOT.” 😃

ETA: You wouldn’t happen to be a genetically-engineered raccoon, would you?

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**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointed-after-misreading/809362/3 "2018-02-22T20:58:45Z")

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I’m reminded of the thread from a couple years ago titled “[horizontal buttonhole](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=790605)”. Multiple people, myself included, misread that one and were sadly disappointed by the content of the OP. I think less than half the responses were actually on topic.