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

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hosed
adj. Same as down. Used primarily by Unix hackers. Humorous: also implies a
condition thought to be relatively easy to reverse. Probably derived from
the Canadian slang hoser popularized by the Bob and Doug Mackenzie skits on
SCTV, but this usage predated SCTV by years in hackerdom (it was certainly
already live at CMU in the 1970s). See hose. It is also widely used of
people in the mainstream sense of in an extremely unfortunate situation.
Once upon a time, a Cray that had been experiencing periodic difficulties
crashed, and it was announced to have been hosed. It was discovered that the
crash was due to the disconnection of some coolant hoses. The problem was
corrected, and users were then assured that everything was OK because the
system had been rehosed. See also dehose.