tar and feather

jargon (A sick contrivance from the Unix tar command and

the Ku Klux Klan torture method) To create a transportable

archive from a group of files by first sticking them together

with tar (the Tape ARchiver) and then compressing the

result. The latter action is dubbed "feathering" (purely for

contrived effect) by analogy to what you do with an aeroplane

propeller to decrease wind resistance, or with an oar to

reduce water resistance; smaller files, after all, slip

through comm links more easily.

[Jargon File]

(1997-05-26)