patch pumpkin

n. [Perl hackers] A notional token passed around among the members of a
project. Possession of the patch pumpkin means one has the exclusive
authority to make changes on the project's master source tree. The implicit
assumption is that pumpkin holder status is temporary and rotates
periodically among senior project members. This term comes from the Perl
development community, but has been sighted elsewhere. It derives from a
stuffed-toy pumpkin that was passed around at a development shop years ago
as the access control for a shared backup-tape drive.

