hack

n 1: one who works hard at boring tasks [syn: {drudge}, {hacker}]

2: a politician who belongs to a small clique that controls a

political party for private rather than public ends [syn:

{machine politician}, {ward-heeler}, {political hack}]

3: a mediocre and disdained writer [syn: {hack writer}, {literary

hack}]

4: a car driven by a person whose job is to take passengers

where they want to go in exchange for money [syn: {cab}, {taxi},

{taxicab}]

5: an old or over-worked horse [syn: {jade}, {nag}, {plug}]

6: a horse kept for hire

7: a saddle horse used for transportation rather than sport

etc.

v 1: cut with a tool [syn: {chop}]

2: informal: be able to manage or manage successfully; "I can't

hack it anymore"; "she could not cut the long days in the

office" [syn: {cut}]

3: cut away

4: kick on the arms; in basketball

5: kick on the shins; in rugby

6: fix a computer program piecemeal until it works; "I'm not

very good at hacking but I'll give it my best" [syn: {hack

on}]

7: significantly cut up a manuscript [syn: {cut up}]

8: cough spasmodically; "The patient with emphysema is hacking

all day" [syn: {whoop}]

hack

1. Originally, a quick job that produces what is

needed, but not well.

2. An incredibly good, and perhaps very time-consuming, piece

of work that produces exactly what is needed.

3. To bear emotionally or physically. "I can't hack this

heat!"

4. To work on something (typically a program). In an

immediate sense: "What are you doing?" "I'm hacking TECO."

In a general (time-extended) sense: "What do you do around

here?" "I hack TECO." More generally, "I hack "foo"" is

roughly equivalent to ""foo" is my major interest (or

project)". "I hack solid-state physics." See {Hacking X for

Y}.

5. To pull a prank on. See {hacker}.

6. To interact with a computer in a playful and exploratory

rather than goal-directed way. "Whatcha up to?" "Oh, just

hacking."

7. Short for {hacker}.

8. See {nethack}.

9. (MIT) 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 {Zork}. See also

{vadding}.

See also {neat hack}, {real hack}.

[{Jargon File}]

(1996-08-26)