frobnicate

/frob'ni-kayt/ (Possibly from frobnitz, and usually

abbreviated to frob, but "frobnicate" is recognised as the

official full form). To manipulate or adjust, to tweak.

One frequently frobs bits or other 2-state devices. Thus:

"Please frob the light switch" (that is, flip it), but also

"Stop frobbing that clasp; you'll break it". One also sees

the construction "to frob a frob".

Usage: frob, twiddle, and tweak sometimes connote points

along a continuum. "Frob" connotes aimless manipulation;

"twiddle" connotes gross manipulation, often a coarse search

for a proper setting; "tweak" connotes fine-tuning. If

someone is turning a knob on an oscilloscope, then if he's

carefully adjusting it, he is probably tweaking it; if he is

just turning it but looking at the screen, he is probably

twiddling it; but if he's just doing it because turning a knob

is fun, he's frobbing it. The variant "frobnosticate" has

also been reported.

(1994-12-16)