JargonFile/entries/bang.txt
2014-04-26 15:52:28 +01:00

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bang
1. n. Common spoken name for ! (ASCII 0100001), especially when used in pronouncing a path in spoken hackish. In elder days this was considered a CMUish usage, with MIT and Stanford hackers preferring excl or shriek ; but the spread of Unix has carried with it (esp. via the term path ) and it is now certainly the most common spoken name for !. Note that it is used exclusively for non-emphatic written ! ; one would not say Congratulations (except possibly for humorous purposes), but if one wanted to specify the exact characters foo! one would speak Eff oh oh . See shriek , ASCII. 2. interj. An exclamation signifying roughly I have achieved enlightenment! , or The dynamite has cleared out my brain! Often used to acknowledge that one has perpetrated a thinko immediately after one has been called on it.