18 lines
990 B
Plaintext
18 lines
990 B
Plaintext
frobnitz
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/frobnits/ , pl. , frobnitzem , /frobnitzm/ , frobni , /frob'ni:/ , n.
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[TMRC] An unspecified physical object, a widget. Also refers to electronic
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black boxes. This rare form is usually abbreviated to frotz , or more
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commonly to frob. Also used are frobnule ( /frobn[y]ool/ ) and frobule (
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/frobyool/ ). Starting perhaps in 1979, frobozz /fr@-boz/ (plural:
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frobbotzim /fr@-botzm/ ) has also become very popular, largely through its
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exposure as a name via Zork. These variants can also be applied to
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nonphysical objects, such as data structures. For related amusement, see the
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Encyclopedia Frobozzica. Pete Samson, compiler of the original TMRC lexicon,
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adds, Under the TMRC [railroad] layout were many storage boxes, managed (in
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1958) by David R. Sawyer. Several had fanciful designations written on them,
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such as Frobnitz Coil Oil. Perhaps DRS intended Frobnitz to be a proper
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name, but the name was quickly taken for the thing. This was almost
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certainly the origin of the term.
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