Browsing page 8 of new words for August 14, 2009

verb - transitive

• to hack, with the result being something quickly and sloppily created, or modified to solve a particular problem.
  • See more words with the same meaning: computer slang.

  Last edited on Nov 10 2011. Submitted by WalterGR (via TheJargonFile) on Aug 14 2009.

• to cut up or chop up.

  The serial killer hacked up the sheriff at the end of the movie.

  Last edited on Aug 02 2010. Submitted by Walter Rader (Editor) from Sacramento, CA, USA on Aug 02 2010.

• to cough up.

  Last edited on Jan 24 2012. Submitted by Rudy from Hartford, CT, USA on Jan 24 2012.

adjective

• a joke or "joke" that contains a core of truth.
  • See more words with the same meaning: computer slang.

  Last edited on Aug 14 2009. Submitted by WalterGR (via TheJargonFile) on Aug 14 2009.

adjective

• dangerous.

  Last edited on Aug 11 2009. Submitted by Walter Rader (Editor) from Sacramento, CA, USA on Aug 11 2009.

• of a problem, complicated.

  I've finished all of the match assignment except for #3. It's pretty hairy.

  Last edited on Nov 10 2011. Submitted by WalterGR (via TheJargonFile) on Aug 14 2009.

noun

• an instance of hand-waving as described in the verb sense.

  Boy, what a handwave!

  Last edited on Nov 10 2011. Submitted by WalterGR (via TheJargonFile) on Aug 14 2009.

verb

• an insufficient (and often dismissive) explanation of something complex.
  • See more words with the same meaning: computer slang.

  Last edited on Nov 10 2011. Submitted by WalterGR (via TheJargonFile) on Aug 14 2009.

noun

• in computing, a bug that disappears or changes its behavior when an attempt is found to locate its source or to generally investigate it.
  
  This is an actual occurrence, since tools such as debuggers do change a program's behavior. Even "innocuous" techniques such emitting debugging output to a console changes the runtime of programs and can affect timing-related issues.
  • See more words with the same meaning: computer slang.

  Last edited on Nov 15 2011. Submitted by WalterGR (via TheJargonFile) on Aug 14 2009.

origin

• From "Heisenberg" + "bug". A reference to Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle in quantum physics.

  Last edited on Nov 15 2011. Submitted by WalterGR (via TheJargonFile) on Aug 14 2009.

noun

• a person hired for their expertise.

                                                                                                                                                                                
  
  Citation from "CSI Myths: The Shaky Science Behind Forensics", Popular Mechanics, Brad Reagan, August 2009 issue censored in hope of resolving Google's penalty against this site.

  • See more words with the same meaning: an expert, a fan.

  Last edited on Nov 10 2011. Submitted by Walter Rader (Editor) from Sacramento, CA, USA on Jul 27 2009.

• an employee under contract rather than permanent employment.
  • See more words with the same meaning: business (related to).

  Last edited on Nov 10 2011. Submitted by WalterGR (via TheJargonFile) on Aug 14 2009.

• a mercenary.

  Last edited on Nov 10 2011. Submitted by Slaag Master from Salt Lake City, UT, USA on Jan 23 2010.

noun

• the theory that if you put an infinite number of monkeys in front of typewriters, given an infinite amount of time, they will eventually duplicate one or more Shakespeare scripts.
  • See more words with the same meaning: computer slang.

  Last edited on Nov 10 2011. Submitted by WalterGR (via TheJargonFile) on Aug 14 2009.

notes

• In mid-2002, researchers at Plymouth University in England actually put a working computer in a cage with six crested macaques. The monkeys proceeded to bash the machine with a rock, urinate on it, and type the letter S a lot (later, the letters A, J, L, and M also crept in). The results were published in a limited-edition book, Notes Towards The Complete Works of Shakespeare. A researcher reported:
  
  "They were quite interested in the screen, and they saw that when they typed a letter, something happened. There was a level of intention there."

  Last edited on May 16 2011. Submitted by WalterGR (via TheJargonFile) on Aug 14 2009.

origin

• This theorem has been traced to the mathematician E'mile Borel in 1913, and was first popularized by the astronomer Sir Arthur Eddington. It became part of the idiom of techies via the classic SF short story "Inflexible Logic" by Russell Maloney, and many younger hackers know it through a reference in Douglas Adams's "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".
  
  On 1 April 2000 the usage acquired its own Internet standard, RFC2795 - Infinite Monkey Protocol Suite.

  Last edited on May 16 2011. Submitted by WalterGR (via TheJargonFile) on Aug 14 2009.

adverb

• of an ongoing task, performed slowly over time, when nothing is claiming one's immediate attention.

  I'm working on the graph-printing problem in the background.

  • See more words with the same meaning: computer slang.

  Last edited on Nov 12 2011. Submitted by WalterGR (via TheJargonFile) on Aug 14 2009.

• of ongoing thought work, being solved slowly over time by a person's unconscious.

  Yeah, boss, I'm working on that in the background.

  Last edited on Nov 15 2011. Submitted by WalterGR (via TheJargonFile) on Aug 14 2009.

• Note that this implies ongoing activity but at a reduced level or in spare time, in contrast to mainstream "back burner" (which connotes benign neglect until some future resumption of activity).

  Last edited on Aug 14 2009. Submitted by WalterGR (via TheJargonFile) on Aug 14 2009.