Topic: What does "sawed off little runt" means?

[Raul CB750K1]

I looked at my dictionary and found that "runt" is the smallest, weakest of a group of similar animals, and by association, it refers to somebody who is below the standard of the group around. "To saw off" doesn't seem to have an special meaning, so I guess it just means to cut something off by sawing.

What I don't get is the association of "sawed off" with "runt"? Does it means it has been removed from the group? In the context it appeared, clearly he wasn't. Please enlighten me....

[Johnie]

Up in the north "sawed off" means short in height. Or "short crotch" is another term.

[MCRider]

I looked at my dictionary and found that "runt" is the smallest, weakest of a group of similar animals, and by association, it refers to somebody who is below the standard of the group around. "To saw off" doesn't seem to have an special meaning, so I guess it just means to cut something off by sawing.

What I don't get is the association of "sawed off" with "runt"? Does it means it has been removed from the group? In the context it appeared, clearly he wasn't. Please enlighten me....

TO me, its a redundancy for effect. A sawed off little runt says 3 times , he's little.

[the technological J]

maybe its cogney and the word thier useing is really something that rhymes with it  but i cant think of any thing besides punt.....  jk....... what ^^^ he said

[Uncle Ernie]

Sawed off little runt =
Ya moke (or "jamoke")
little pissant (worse than a big pissant)
schlemiel
red-headed step child

[kirkn]

MCRider has it right.  Redundant for effect.  But, more than just stature, it's also meant to be insulting, as in, they're a bit of a jerk, too.  Even annoying.

Ernie, around here, jamoke and schlemiel mean more generically a fool.  Not necessarily a short person.

red-headed step child?  That's a different insult altogether... 

[Uncle Ernie]

They all kind of blend together to me.  The "sawed off" part could be said to someone who is 6' tall- as long as you're 6'1".  They're all intended as insults.

On the other hand, inflection, tone, and intent can greatly modify things.  You can call someone an SOB and he'll either punch you or buy you a drink.  Hard to say out of context.

[Damfino]

What'd you call me?....

[6pkrunner]

Just added in to augment the insult. "Runt"  by itself has no real insult value unless your machismo quotient places large value on height. Runt is just a description for the smallest animal in a particular brood. "Sawed-off, little" add negative spice to the mix and kick it up  quotient. So for a guy who determines his worth over how tall he is, "sawed off little runt" would be quite the kicker.

Same as why not just phocking runt, when motherphocking runt is just so much more descriptive and vile?

[754]

This may explain it;
 The 350 Four, is the sawed off little runt of the SOHC 4 family..
 



  To take it a bit further, some cops look like S Seagal, C Eastwood, or A Schwarzenegger.. then when a fellow like   D Knotts comes along... well you get the picture..

 My buddy who is huge used to really piss most guys off by saying; "Jump up on my hand Little Man, so I can see you!".. even if they were 180 lbs... it was hilarious...  

[Raul CB750K1]

I get it now, thanks for the explanations.

I watched the video and, not having somebody besides him to compare with, how could anybody know how tall the guy is? Furthermore, in Spain, to become a policeman you have to be taller than a certain height, so from that point, any policeman should not qualify as a "sawed off little runt" I guess.


Security guards, as in shopping malls etc, used to have to be taller than a certain height too. Due to shortage of candidates, and to the fact that they don't want/need/are allowed to confront anybody but just call police in case of trouble, you find many times guards in uniform that can't even scare my little kids.

[BobbyR]

The Runt part means small or weak. In a litter of Dogs the smallest one is call the "runt of the litter". The sawed of part refers to that fact that some one mist have removed a piece of you. English has it's own slang. Sometimes it come from the other languages if the people who came here. Schmuck is from Yiddish. Italians say Minchia as an exclamation, which actually would be the same as Pinga in Spanish.

[MCRider]

I get it now, thanks for the explanations.

I watched the video and, not having somebody besides him to compare with, how could anybody know how tall the guy is? Furthermore, in Spain, to become a policeman you have to be taller than a certain height, so from that point, any policeman should not qualify as a "sawed off little runt" I guess.


snip

While I tend to give police the benefit of the doubt, and there are lots of doubts about that video, I wouldn't hesitate to call someone bigger and more powerful than me a "sawed off little runt" just to make them mad, especially if i knew there was nothing they could do about it.  So it doesn't have to be literal to be effective. 

I generally avoid adversarial situations so it has never come up in fact, but I would do it.