The Jargon File by Eric S. Raymond (sites to read books for free .TXT) 📖

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.

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.

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

[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.

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 isgrok 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."

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 particular, the microfloppies on a

Commodore Amiga go "grink, gronk".

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."

Node:gronked, Next:[6268]grovel, Previous:[6269]gronk out, Up:[6270]=

G =

gronked adj.

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.

Node:grovel, Next:[6273]grue, Previous:[6274]gronked, Up:[6275]= G =

grovel vi.

To work interminably and without apparent progress. Often used

transitively with over' orthrough'. "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 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."

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.

Node:grunge, Next:[6283]gubbish, Previous:[6284]grue, Up:[6285]= G =

grunge /gruhnj/ n.

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.

Node:gubbish, Next:[6287]Guido, Previous:[6288]grunge, Up:[6289]= G =

gubbish /guhb'*sh/ n.

[a portmanteau of garbage' andrubbish'; 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.

Node:Guido, Next:[6290]guiltware, Previous:[6291]gubbish, Up:[6292]= G

=

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/.

Node:guiltware, Next:[6294]gumby, Previous:[6295]Guido, Up:[6296]= G =

guiltware /gilt'weir/ n.

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 freeloader if one does not immediately send the poor suffering

martyr gobs of money. 2. A piece of [6298]shareware that works.

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' orpull 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.")

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.

Node:gunch, Next:[6307]gunpowder chicken, Previous:[6308]gun,

Up:[6309]= G =

gunch /guhnch/ vt.

[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.

Node:gunpowder chicken, Next:[6311]gurfle, Previous:[6312]gunch,

Up:[6313]= G =

gunpowder chicken n.

Same as [6314]laser chicken.

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.

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.

Node:guru meditation, Next:[6324]gweep, Previous:[6325]guru,

Up:[6326]= G =

guru meditation n.

Amiga equivalent of panic' in Unix (sometimes just called aguru' 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).

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 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."

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:

[6350]hacker ethic:

[6351]hacker humor:

[6352]Hackers (the movie):

[6353]hacking run:

[6354]Hacking X for Y:

[6355]Hackintosh:

[6356]hackish:

[6357]hackishness:

[6358]hackitude:

[6359]hair:

[6360]hairball:

[6361]hairy:

[6362]HAKMEM:

[6363]hakspek:

[6364]Halloween Documents:

[6365]hammer:

[6366]hamster:

[6367]HAND:

[6368]hand cruft:

[6369]hand-hacking:

[6370]handle:

[6371]handle:

[6372]hand-roll:

[6373]handshaking:

[6374]handwave:

[6375]hang:

[6376]Hanlon's Razor:

[6377]happily:

[6378]haque:

[6379]hard boot:

[6380]hardcoded:

[6381]hardwarily:

[6382]hardwired:

[6383]has the X nature:

[6384]hash bucket:

[6385]hash collision:

[6386]hat:

[6387]HCF:

[6388]heads down:

[6389]heartbeat:

[6390]heatseeker:

[6391]heavy metal:

[6392]heavy wizardry:

[6393]heavyweight:

[6394]heisenbug:

[6395]Helen Keller mode:

[6396]hello sailor!:

[6397]hello wall!:

[6398]hello world:

[6399]hex:

[6400]hexadecimal:

[6401]hexit:

[6402]HHOK:

[6403]HHOS:

[6404]hidden flag:

[6405]high bit:

[6406]high moby:

[6407]highly:

[6408]hing:

[6409]hired gun:

[6410]hirsute:

[6411]HLL:

[6412]hoarding:

[6413]hobbit:

[6414]hog:

[6415]hole:

[6416]hollised:

[6417]holy wars:

[6418]home box:

[6419]home machine:

[6420]home page:

[6421]honey pot:

[6422]hook:

[6423]hop:

[6424]hose:

[6425]hosed:

[6426]hot chat:

[6427]hot spot:

[6428]hotlink:

[6429]house wizard:

[6430]HP-SUX:

[6431]HTH:

[6432]huff:

[6433]humma:

[6434]hung:

[6435]hungry puppy:

[6436]hungus:

[6437]hyperspace:

[6438]hysterical reasons:

Node:h, Next:[6439]ha ha only serious, Previous:[6440]gweep,

Up:[6441]= H =

h

[from SF fandom] A method of `marking' common words, i.e., calling

attention to the fact that they are being used in a nonstandard,

ironic, or humorous way. Originated in the fannish catchphrase "Bheer