hack

jargon 1. Originally, a quick job that produces what is

needed, but not well.

2. An incredibly good, and perhaps very time-consuming, piece

of work that produces exactly what is needed.

3. To bear emotionally or physically. "I can't hack this

heat!"

4. 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." More generally, "I hack "foo"" is

roughly equivalent to ""foo" is my major interest (or

project)". "I hack solid-state physics." See Hacking X forY.

5. To pull a prank on. See hacker.

6. To interact with a computer in a playful and exploratory

rather than goal-directed way. "Whatcha up to?" "Oh, just

hacking."

7. Short for hacker.

8. See nethack.

9. (MIT) To explore the basements, roof ledges, and steam

tunnels of a large, institutional building, to the dismay of

Physical Plant workers and (since this is usually performed at

educational institutions) the Campus Police. This activity

has been found to be eerily similar to playing adventure games

such as Dungeons and Dragons and Zork. See also

vadding.

See also neat hack, real hack.

[Jargon File]

(1996-08-26)