JargonFile/entries/munge.txt
2014-04-26 16:54:15 +01:00

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munge
/muhnj/ , vt. 1. [derogatory] To imperfectly transform information. 2. A
comprehensive rewrite of a routine, data structure or the whole program. 3.
To modify data in some way the speaker doesn't need to go into right now or
cannot describe succinctly (compare mumble ). 4. To add spamblock to an
email address. This term is often confused with mung , which probably was
derived from it. However, it also appears the word munge was in common use
in Scotland in the 1940s, and in Yorkshire in the 1950s, as a verb, meaning
to munch up into a masticated mess, and as a noun, meaning the result of
munging something up (the parallel with the kluge / kludge pair is amusing).
The OED reports munge as an archaic verb meaning to wipe (a person's nose).