N Is For Nuts, Please Note

/ Ally Bean
Screen Shot 2016-03-21 at 10.55.52 AMNuttier than a squirrel’s pantry

… is a way to say someone is crazy, while not saying directly that someone is crazy.  It’s a cute turn of phrase, correct in the right context.  ‘Ya know?

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THE OTHER MORNING I was looking out into the forest behind our house, admiring the color green, when I noticed that Fuzzy the Squirrel was on the ground, up to something.

He rarely allows his little paws to touch the ground, preferring to stay above it all in the trees… or in our gutters… or on our deck.  I was intrigued.

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I’D BEEN THINKING ABOUT the origins of the saying, nuttier than a squirrel’s pantry, all morning.  So when I saw Fuzzy, in a flash of inspiration, I decided to ask him if he could explain the meaning of this saying, from his point of view.

Straight from the squirrel’s mouth, so to speak.

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WELL, MY GENTLE READERS, I was not prepared for what our favorite squirrel had to say.  But I give him credit, he told it like it is.  He didn’t mince words, nor did he spare my feelings.

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YOU SEE, COME TO FIND OUT, from a squirrel’s perspective, this seemingly innocent and silly human saying, is offensive and disparaging.

Squirrels take it personally, looking down upon us humans who say it.  To them, this saying is animalist.  Decidedly not PC.

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And inaccurate, as Fuzzy was quick to point out before he scampered away.  “Lady, we got more than nuts in our pantries. We got seeds and leaves– and sometimes a good old-fashioned purloined tomato from your very own pots of veggies.” 

Thus he confirmed that: 1) he did steal those tomatoes years ago;  and 2) that squirrels might not be as nutty as we humans think they are.

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32 thoughts on “N Is For Nuts, Please Note”

  3. Fuzzy needs to meet up with my resident squirrel family who have an entire network of fence top ‘roads’ that take them all over the neighborhood for their shopping excursions to refill pantry shelves. Rarely do their little feet touch the ground, but they do have the courtesy to give way to the cats on occasion.

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    • Deb, it sounds like your squirrels have got it going on. We don’t have tall fences in this subdivision which might be why our squirrels are forced to use the ground. And as for cats, the two species seem to live in happy harmony here. Don’t know why, but they do.

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  5. Thus spake Fuzzy. You folks to the east have the funniest sayings! I thought the south was rich in idioms and I know the northwest is virtually foreign to my midwest speech, but there is so much from your neck of the woods that I’ve never heard. And this is so cute I must try to introduce it here.

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    • Zazamataz, when I started this topic I didn’t consider how regional many of these sayings are. To me they’re everyday language. But I’m beginning to see that I was wrong about that assumption. I hope that you’re successful getting this saying to catch on where you live. It’s a fun one.

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    • Rhonda, I’ve been told off by squirrels, too. Fuzzy adopted us a few years ago and behaves himself most of the time. Although there have been days when he’s tested my patience!

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  7. Heavens. I can’t believe you’d demean squirrels like that. Here, we worship them.

    Except the dog. She uh, well, she makes sure they’re well-exercised. 😉

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  9. We have a squirrel, who eats our deck tomatoes…and taints out dogs with his/her chides of rebellion. He loves to pop his head up on the corner of the deck while we sun bathe. He’s apparently been hit by a vehicle, I’m assuming, because he climbs with a limp and his smile is rather crooked. His name is Frank and I’ve never ever seen him eat a nut!

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    • bitsfromheaven, Frank sounds like a character who lives life by his own squirrelly rules. What is it with squirrels and deck tomatoes? They’re supposed to be eating nuts. Period.

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  11. I was taken aback when I saw the post for O tonight, because it meant I missed N and I just knew N was going to be a tribute to nuts and squirrels! Fuzzy looks so cute and innocent, and I can’t believe for a minute he said any of those things or even stole those tomatoes from your garden (I hope he already ate the evidence)….

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    • evilsquirrel13, well, you know… Fuzzy is the sort of fellow who works every situation around to his advantage, so his indignation about this saying might be disingenuous. However, I think his tomato thievery is the real thing.

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  13. Fuzzy has such nice white border on his tail. Local squirrels here are quite impresses as theirs are more monochromatic. They said “Nuts to you”, but I am unsure if that is a good thing with them offering celebratory treats or a bad thing in squirrel slang.

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    • philmouse, Fuzzy and friends are pleased that you noticed their two-tone coloring. They will, however, neither confirm, nor deny, your understanding of the squirrel phrase: nuts to you. Apparently the international squirrel code does not allow them to do so.

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