kludge
<jargon> /kluhj/ (From the old Scots "kludgie" meaning an outside toilet)
A Scottish engineering term for anything added in an ad hoc (and possibly
unhygenic!) manner. At some point during the Second World War, Scottish
engineers met Americans and the meaning, spelling and pronunciation of kludge
became confused with that of "kluge".
The spelling "kludge" was apparently popularised by the "Datamation" cited below
which defined it as "An ill-assorted collection of poorly matching parts,
forming a distressing whole."
The result of this tangled history is a mess; in 1993, many (perhaps even most)
hackers pronounce the word /klooj/ but spell it "kludge" (compare the
pronunciation drift of mung). Some observers consider this appropriate in view
of its meaning.
["How to Design a Kludge", Jackson Granholme, Datamation, February 1962, pp.
30-31].
[Jargon File]
(1998-12-09)
Nearby terms:
KLOC « klone « KL-ONE « kludge » kluge »
kluge around » km
|
