JargonFile/entries/bogon.txt

bogon

/bohgon/ , n. [very common; by analogy with proton/electron/neutron, but
doubtless reinforced after 1980 by the similarity to Douglas Adams's Vogons
; see the Bibliography in Appendix C and note that Arthur Dent actually
mispronounces Vogons as Bogons at one point] 1. The elementary particle of
bogosity (see quantum bogodynamics ). For instance, the Ethernet is emitting
bogons again means that it is broken or acting in an erratic or bogus
fashion. 2. A query packet sent from a TCP/IP domain resolver to a root
server, having the reply bit set instead of the query bit. 3. Any bogus or
incorrectly formed packet sent on a network. 4. By synecdoche, used to refer
to any bogus thing, as in I'd like to go to lunch with you but I've got to
go to the weekly staff bogon. 5. A person who is bogus or who says bogus
things. This was historically the original usage, but has been overtaken by
its derivative senses 1--4. See also bogosity , bogus ; compare psyton , fat
electrons , magic smoke. The bogon has become the type case for a whole
bestiary of nonce particle names, including the clutron or cluon
(indivisible particle of cluefulness, obviously the antiparticle of the
bogon) and the futon (elementary particle of randomness , or sometimes of
lameness). These are not so much live usages in themselves as examples of a
live meta-usage: that is, it has become a standard joke or linguistic
maneuver to explain otherwise mysterious circumstances by inventing nonce
particle names. And these imply nonce particle theories, with all their
dignity or lack thereof (we might note parenthetically that this is a
generalization from (bogus particle) theories to bogus (particle theories)
!). Perhaps such particles are the modern-day equivalents of trolls and
wood-nymphs as standard starting-points around which to construct
explanatory myths. Of course, playing on an existing word (as in the futon )
yields additional flavor. Compare magic smoke.