WhatIs

/hak əp/

vt. To hack, but generally implies that the result is a hack in sense 1 (a quick hack). Contrast this with hack on. To 'hack up on' implies a quick-and-dirty modification to an existing system. Contrast hacked up; compare kluge up, monkey up, cruft together.

/hak tə-ˈge-t͟hər/

vt. To throw something together so it will work. Unlike kluge together or cruft together, this does not necessarily have negative connotations.

/hak än/

vt. To hack; implies that the subject is some pre-existing hunk of code that one is evolving, as opposed to something one might hack up.

/hak mōd/

n. 1. What one is in when hacking, of course.

2. More specifically, a Zen-like state of total focus on The Problem that may be achieved when one is hacking (this is why every good hacker is part mystic). Ability to enter such concentration at will correlates strongly with wizardliness; it is one of the most important skills learned during larval stage. Sometimes amplified as 'deep hack mode'.

/hak ə-ˈtak/

[poss. by analogy with 'Big Mac Attack' from ads for the McDonald's fast-food chain; the variant 'big hack attack' is reported]

n. Nearly synonymous with hacking run, though the latter more strongly implies an all-nighter.

/hak/

1. n. Originally, a quick job that produces what is needed, but not well.

2. n. An incredibly good, and perhaps very time-consuming, piece of work that produces exactly what is needed.

3. vt. To bear emotionally or physically.

"I can't hack this heat!"

4. vt. To work on something (typically a program). In an immediate sense:

"What are you doing?"

"I'm hacking TECO."

In a general (time-extended) sense:

"What do you do around here?"

"I hack TECO."

/hä hä ōn-lē sir-ē-əs/

[from SF fandom, orig. as mutation of HHOK, 'Ha Ha Only Kidding']

/āch/

[from SF fandom]

/gu̇r-(ˌ)ü/

n. 

1. [UNIX] An expert. Implies not only 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 source of all good bits.

/ger'fl/

interj. An expression of shocked disbelief.

"He said we have to recode this thing in FORTRAN by next week. Gurfle!"

Compare weeble.