“Why don’t you make like a tree and get outta here?”

Alex is 24 years old; he was born in New Jersey, but was raised and lived the majority of his childhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He arrived in California for the first time when he was moving into his dorm room at USC in Los Angeles, California.  Currently, Alex is an alumni from USC with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy.

Alex told me this is one of his favorite quotes from one of his favorite movies Back to the Future. It is a variation on the pun “Make like a tree and leave.”  He told me that he actually uses this quote in real life because of how much he likes this quote; additionally, he says that he has heard other people use the same quote in colloquial conversation as well.  He says that this quote appeals to him because he finds it humorous that the character that says it, Biff Tannen, doesn’t seem to understand that what makes the statement and actual pun (leave – the verb and the noun).

I personally find this quote to be hilarious as well.  I have heard people use this in real life additionally and feel as though I’m “in the know” when I heard other people say it and am able to say that I get what’s funny about it. It forms a sort of group identity in the sense that all people who have viewed the movie and remember the quote are included in.

Zemeckis, R. (1985, July 03). Back to the future. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088763/quotes