At an adult English class, the instructor decided to make vocabulary practice a little more entertaining.

“Alright, everyone,” she said, writing on the board. “Give me a word that ends in -tor and names something that eats things.”

A man in the front row raised his hand.

“Alligator.”

“Excellent,” said the instructor. “That’s a big word, and yes, an alligator definitely eats things.”

Another student raised her hand.

“Predator.”

“Very good,” the instructor replied. “A predator hunts and eats other creatures. Another perfect answer.”

The class seemed pleased, and the teacher smiled, ready to move on.

Then a quiet man at the back lifted his hand.

“Yes?” the instructor asked.

“Vibrator,” he said confidently.

The room went completely silent.

The instructor nearly dropped her marker. After a long pause, she cleared her throat and said, “Well… that is a word ending in -tor, and it is certainly a big word, but it doesn’t eat anything.”

The man shrugged and replied,

“Well, my girlfriend has one, and she says it eats batteries like there’s no tomorrow.”