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<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><title>hack</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="../../jargon.css" type="text/css"/><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.61.0"/><link rel="home" href="../index.html" title="The Jargon File"/><link rel="up" href="../H.html" title="H"/><link rel="previous" href="ha-ha-only-serious.html" title="ha ha only serious"/><link rel="next" href="hack-attack.html" title="hack attack"/></head><body><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="3" align="center">hack</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="ha-ha-only-serious.html">Prev</a> </td><th width="60%" align="center">H</th><td width="20%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="hack-attack.html">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr/></div><dt><a id="hack"/><dt xmlns="" id="hack"><b>hack</b></dt></dt><dd><p> [very common] </p></dd><dd><p> 1. <span class="grammar">n.</span> Originally, a quick job
that produces what is needed, but not well. </p></dd><dd><p> 2. <span class="grammar">n.</span> An incredibly good, and
perhaps very time-consuming, piece of work that produces exactly what is
needed. </p></dd><dd><p> 3. <span class="grammar">vt.</span> To bear emotionally or
physically. &#8220;<span class="quote">I can't hack this heat!</span>&#8221; </p></dd><dd><p> 4. <span class="grammar">vt.</span> To work on something
(typically a program). In an immediate sense: &#8220;<span class="quote">What are you
doing?</span>&#8221; &#8220;<span class="quote">I'm hacking TECO.</span>&#8221; In a general
(time-extended) sense: &#8220;<span class="quote">What do you do around here?</span>&#8221; &#8220;<span class="quote">I
hack TECO.</span>&#8221; More generally, &#8220;<span class="quote">I hack <span class="firstterm">foo</span></span>&#8221; is roughly equivalent to
&#8220;<span class="quote"><span class="firstterm">foo</span> is my major interest (or
project)</span>&#8221;. &#8220;<span class="quote">I hack solid-state physics.</span>&#8221; See
<a href="Hacking-X-for-Y.html"><i class="glossterm">Hacking X for Y</i></a>. </p></dd><dd><p> 5. <span class="grammar">vt.</span> To pull a prank on. See
sense 2 and <a href="hacker.html"><i class="glossterm">hacker</i></a> (sense 5). </p></dd><dd><p> 6. <span class="grammar">vi.</span> To interact with a
computer in a playful and exploratory rather than goal-directed way.
&#8220;<span class="quote">Whatcha up to?</span>&#8221; &#8220;<span class="quote">Oh, just hacking.</span>&#8221; </p></dd><dd><p> 7. <span class="grammar">n.</span> Short for
<a href="hacker.html"><i class="glossterm">hacker</i></a>. </p></dd><dd><p> 8. See <a href="../N/nethack.html"><i class="glossterm">nethack</i></a>.</p></dd><dd><p> 9. [MIT] <span class="grammar">v.</span> To explore the
basements, roof ledges, and steam tunnels of a large, institutional
building, to the dismay of Physical Plant workers and (since this is
usually performed at educational institutions) the Campus Police. This
activity has been found to be eerily similar to playing adventure games
such as Dungeons and Dragons and <a href="../Z/Zork.html"><i class="glossterm">Zork</i></a>. See also
<a href="../V/vadding.html"><i class="glossterm">vadding</i></a>.</p></dd><dd><p>Constructions on this term abound. They include <span class="firstterm">happy hacking</span> (a farewell), <span class="firstterm">how's hacking?</span> (a friendly greeting among
hackers) and <span class="firstterm">hack, hack</span> (a fairly
content-free but friendly comment, often used as a temporary farewell).
For more on this totipotent term see <i class="citetitle">
<a href="../meaning-of-hack.html" title="The Meaning of &#8216;Hack&#8217;">The Meaning of Hack</a></i>. See also <a href="../N/neat-hack.html"><i class="glossterm">neat hack</i></a>,
<a href="../R/real-hack.html"><i class="glossterm">real hack</i></a>.</p></dd><div class="navfooter"><hr/><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="ha-ha-only-serious.html">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="../H.html">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="hack-attack.html">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">ha ha only serious </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="../index.html">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> hack attack</td></tr></table></div></body></html>