The New Hacker's Dictionary
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grilf // n.
Girlfriend. Like [6231]newsfroup and [6232]filk, a typo reincarnated as a new word. Seems to have originated sometime in 1992 on [6233]Usenet. [A friend tells me there was a Lloyd Biggle SF novel "Watchers Of The Dark", in which alien species after species goes insane and begins to chant "Grilf! Grilf!". A human detective eventually determines that the word means "Liar!" I hope this has nothing to do with the popularity of the Usenet term. --ESR]
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Node:grind, Next:[6234]grind crank, Previous:[6235]grilf, Up:[6236]= G =
grind vt.
1. [MIT and Berkeley; now rare] To prettify hardcopy of code, especially LISP code, by reindenting lines, printing keywords and comments in distinct fonts (if available), etc. This usage was associated with the MacLISP community and is now rare; prettyprint was and is the generic term for such operations. 2. [Unix] To generate the formatted version of a document from the [6237]nroff, [6238]troff, [6239]TeX, or Scribe source. 3. [common] To run seemingly interminably, esp. (but not necessarily) if performing some tedious and inherently useless task. Similar to [6240]crunch or [6241]grovel. Grinding has a connotation of using a lot of CPU time, but it is possible to grind a disk, network, etc. See also [6242]hog. 4. To make the whole system slow. "Troff really grinds a PDP-11." 5. `grind grind' excl. Roughly, "Isn't the machine slow today!"
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Node:grind crank, Next:[6243]gripenet, Previous:[6244]grind, Up:[6245]= G =
grind crank n. //
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A mythical accessory to a terminal. A crank on the side of a monitor, which when operated makes a zizzing noise and causes the computer to run faster. Usually one does not refer to a grind crank out loud, but merely makes the appropriate gesture and noise. See [6246]grind.
Historical note: At least one real machine actually had a grind crank -- the R1, a research machine built toward the end of the days of the great vacuum tube computers, in 1959. R1 (also known as `The Rice Institute Computer' (TRIC) and later as `The Rice University Computer' (TRUC)) had a single-step/free-run switch for use when debugging programs. Since single-stepping through a large program was rather tedious, there was also a crank with a cam and gear arrangement that repeatedly pushed the single-step button. This allowed one to `crank' through a lot of code, then slow down to single-step for a bit when you got near the code of interest, poke at some registers using the console typewriter, and then keep on cranking.
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Node:gripenet, Next:[6247]gritch, Previous:[6248]grind crank, Up:[6249]= G =
gripenet n.
[IBM] A wry (and thoroughly unofficial) name for IBM's internal VNET system, deriving from its common use by IBMers to voice pointed criticism of IBM management that would be taboo in more formal channels.
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Node:gritch, Next:[6250]grok, Previous:[6251]gripenet, Up:[6252]= G =
gritch /grich/
[MIT] 1. n. A complaint (often caused by a [6253]glitch). 2. vi. To complain. Often verb-doubled: "Gritch gritch". 3. A synonym for
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[6254]glitch (as verb or noun).
Interestingly, this word seems to have a separate history from [6255]glitch, with which it is often confused. Back in the early 1960s, when `glitch' was strictly a hardware-tech's term of art, the Burton House dorm at M.I.T. maintained a "Gritch Book", a blank volume, into which the residents hand-wrote complaints, suggestions, and witticisms. Previous years' volumes of this tradition were maintained, dating back to antiquity. The word "gritch" was described as a portmanteau of "gripe" and "bitch". Thus, sense 3 above is at least historically incorrect.
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Node:grok, Next:[6256]gronk, Previous:[6257]gritch, Up:[6258]= G =
grok /grok/, var. /grohk/ vt.
[from the novel "Stranger in a Strange Land", by Robert A. Heinlein, where it is a Martian word meaning literally `to drink' and metaphorically `to be one with'] The emphatic form is `grok in fullness'. 1. To understand, usually in a global sense. Connotes intimate and exhaustive knowledge. Contrast [6259]zen, which is similar supernal understanding experienced as a single brief flash. See also [6260]glark. 2. Used of programs, may connote merely sufficient understanding. "Almost all C compilers grok the void type these days."
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Node:gronk, Next:[6261]gronk out, Previous:[6262]grok, Up:[6263]= G =
gronk /gronk/ vt.
[popularized by Johnny Hart's comic strip "B.C." but the word apparently predates that] 1. To clear the state of a wedged device and restart it. More severe than `to [6264]frob' (sense 2). 2. [TMRC] To cut, sever, smash, or similarly disable. 3. The sound made by many 3.5-inch diskette drives. In
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particular, the microfloppies on a Commodore Amiga go "grink, gronk".
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Node:gronk out, Next:[6265]gronked, Previous:[6266]gronk, Up:[6267]= G =
gronk out vi.
To cease functioning. Of people, to go home and go to sleep. "I guess I'll gronk out now; see you all tomorrow."
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Node:gronked, Next:[6268]grovel, Previous:[6269]gronk out, Up:[6270]= G =
gronked adj.
1. Broken. "The teletype scanner was gronked, so we took the system down." 2. Of people, the condition of feeling very tired or (less commonly) sick. "I've been chasing that bug for 17 hours now and I am thoroughly gronked!" Compare [6271]broken, which means about the same as [6272]gronk used of hardware, but connotes depression or mental/emotional problems in people.
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Node:grovel, Next:[6273]grue, Previous:[6274]gronked, Up:[6275]= G =
grovel vi.
1. To work interminably and without apparent progress. Often used transitively with `over' or `through'. "The file scavenger has been groveling through the /usr directories for 10 minutes now." Compare [6276]grind and [6277]crunch. Emphatic form: `grovel obscenely'. 2. To examine minutely
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or in complete detail. "The compiler grovels over the entire source program before beginning to translate it." "I grovelled through all the documentation, but I still couldn't find the command I wanted."
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Node:grue, Next:[6278]grunge, Previous:[6279]grovel, Up:[6280]= G =
grue n.
[from archaic English verb for `shudder', as with fear] The grue was originated in the game [6281]Zork (Dave Lebling took the name from Jack Vance's "Dying Earth" fantasies) and used in several other [6282]Infocom games as a hint that you should perhaps look for a lamp, torch or some type of light source. Wandering into a dark area would cause the game to prompt you, "It is very dark. If you continue you are likely to be eaten by a grue." If you failed to locate a light source within the next couple of moves this would indeed be the case.
The grue, according to scholars of the Great Underground Empire, is a sinister, lurking presence in the dark places of the earth. Its favorite diet is either adventurers or enchanters, but its insatiable appetite is tempered by its extreme fear of light. No grues have ever been seen by the light of day, and only a few have been observed in their underground lairs. Of those who have seen grues, few have survived their fearsome jaws to tell the tale. Grues have sharp claws and fangs, and an uncontrollable tendency to slaver and gurgle. They are certainly the most evil-tempered of all creatures; to say they are touchy is a dangerous understatement. "Sour as a grue" is a common expression, even among themselves.
All this folklore is widely known among hackers.
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Node:grunge, Next:[6283]gubbish, Previous:[6284]grue, Up:[6285]= G =
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grunge /gruhnj/ n.
1. That which is grungy, or that which makes it so. 2. [Cambridge] Code which is inaccessible due to changes in other parts of the program. The preferred term in North America is [6286]dead code.
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Node:gubbish, Next:[6287]Guido, Previous:[6288]grunge, Up:[6289]= G =
gubbish /guhb'*sh/ n.
[a portmanteau of `garbage' and `rubbish'; may have originated with SF author Philip K. Dick] Garbage; crap; nonsense. "What is all this gubbish?" The opposite portmanteau `rubbage' is also reported; in fact, it was British slang during the 19th century and appears in Dickens.
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Node:Guido, Next:[6290]guiltware, Previous:[6291]gubbish, Up:[6292]= G
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Guido /gwee'do/ or /khwee'do/
Without qualification, Guido van Rossum (author of [6293]Python). Note that Guido answers to English /gwee'do/ but in Dutch it's /khwee'do/.
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Node:guiltware, Next:[6294]gumby, Previous:[6295]Guido, Up:[6296]= G
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guiltware /gilt'weir/ n.
1. A piece of [6297]freeware decorated with a message telling one how long and hard the author worked on it and intimating that one is a no-good
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freeloader if one does not immediately send the poor suffering martyr gobs of money. 2. A piece of [6298]shareware that works.
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Node:gumby, Next:[6299]gun, Previous:[6300]guiltware, Up:[6301]= G =
gumby /guhm'bee/ n.
[from a class of Monty Python characters, poss. with some influence from the 1960s claymation character] 1. An act of minor but conspicuous stupidity, often in `gumby maneuver' or `pull a gumby'. 2. [NRL] n. A bureaucrat, or other technical incompetent who impedes the progress of real work. 3. adj. Relating to things typically associated with people in sense 2. (e.g. "Ran would be writing code, but Richard gave him gumby work that's due on Friday", or, "Dammit! Travel screwed up my plane tickets. I have to go out on gumby patrol.")
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Node:gun, Next:[6302]gunch, Previous:[6303]gumby, Up:[6304]= G =
gun vt.
[ITS, now rare: from the :GUN command] To forcibly terminate a program or job (computer, not career). "Some idiot left a background process running soaking up half the cycles, so I gunned it." Usage: now rare. Compare [6305]can, [6306]blammo.
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Node:gunch, Next:[6307]gunpowder chicken, Previous:[6308]gun, Up:[6309]= G =
gunch /guhnch/ vt.
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[TMRC] To push, prod, or poke at a device that has almost (but not quite) produced the desired result. Implies a threat to [6310]mung.
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Node:gunpowder chicken, Next:[6311]gurfle, Previous:[6312]gunch, Up:[6313]= G =
gunpowder chicken n.
Same as [6314]laser chicken.
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Node:gurfle, Next:[6315]guru, Previous:[6316]gunpowder chicken, Up:[6317]= G =
gurfle /ger'fl/ interj.
An expression of shocked disbelief. "He said we have to recode this thing in FORTRAN by next week. Gurfle!" Compare [6318]weeble.
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Node:guru, Next:[6319]guru meditation, Previous:[6320]gurfle, Up:[6321]= G =
guru n.
[Unix] An expert. Implies not only [6322]wizard skill but also a history of being a knowledge resource for others. Less often, used (with a qualifier) for other experts on other systems, as in `VMS guru'. See [6323]source of all good bits.
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Node:guru meditation, Next:[6324]gweep, Previous:[6325]guru, Up:[6326]= G =
guru meditation n.
Amiga equivalent of `panic' in Unix (sometimes just called a `guru' or `guru event'). When the system crashes, a cryptic message of the form "GURU MEDITATION #XXXXXXXX.YYYYYYYY" may appear, indicating what the problem was. An Amiga guru can figure things out from the numbers. Sometimes a [6327]guru event must be followed by a [6328]Vulcan nerve pinch.
This term is (no surprise) an in-joke from the earliest days of the Amiga. An earlier product of the Amiga corporation was a device called a `Joyboard' which was basically a plastic board built onto a joystick-like device; it was sold with a skiing game cartridge for the Atari game machine. It is said that whenever the prototype OS crashed, the system programmer responsible would calm down by concentrating on a solution while sitting cross-legged on a Joyboard trying to keep the board in balance. This position resembled that of a meditating guru. Sadly, the joke was removed fairly early on (but there's a well-known patch to restore it in more recent versions).
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Node:gweep, Next:[6329]h, Previous:[6330]guru meditation, Up:[6331]= G =
gweep /gweep/
[WPI] 1. v. To [6332]hack, usually at night. At WPI, from 1975 onwards, one who gweeped could often be found at the College Computing Center punching cards or crashing the [6333]PDP-10 or, later, the DEC-20. A correspondent who was there at the time opines that the term was originally onomatopoetic, describing the keyclick sound of the Datapoint terminals long connected to the PDP-10. The term has survived the demise of those
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technologies, however, and was still alive in early 1999. "I'm going to go gweep for a while. See you in the morning." "I gweep from 8 PM till 3 AM during the week." 2. n. One who habitually gweeps in sense 1; a [6334]hacker. "He's a hard-core gweep, mumbles code in his sleep."
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Node:= H =, Next:[6335]= I =, Previous:[6336]= G =, Up:[6337]The Jargon Lexicon
= H =
*[6338]h:
*[6339]ha ha only serious:
*[6340]hack:
*[6341]hack attack:
*[6342]hack mode:
*[6343]hack on:
*[6344]hack together:
*[6345]hack up:
*[6346]hack value:
*[6347]hacked off:
*[6348]hacked up:
* [6349]hacker: