snare

n 1: something (often something deceptively attractive) that

catches you unawares; "the exam was full of trap

questions"; "it was all a snare and delusion" [syn: {trap}]

2: a small drum with two heads and a snare stretched across the

lower head [syn: {snare drum}, {side drum}]

3: a surgical instrument consisting of wire hoop that can be

drawn tight around the base of polyps or small tumors to

sever them; used especially in body cavities

4: strings stretched across the lower head of a snare drum;

they make a rattling sound when the drum is hit

5: a trap for birds or small mammals; often has a noose [syn: {gin},

{noose}]

v : catch in or as if in a trap; "The men trap foxes" [syn: {trap},

{entrap}, {ensnare}, {trammel}]

snarf

/snarf/ 1. To grab, especially to grab a large document or

file for the purpose of using it with or without the author's

permission.

See also {BLT}.

2. ({Unix}) To fetch a file or set of files across a network.

See also {blast}.

3. To acquire, with little concern for legal forms or

politesse (but not quite by stealing). "They were giving away

samples, so I snarfed a bunch of them."

4. Synonym for {slurp}. "This program starts by snarfing the

entire database into core."

5. ({GEnie}) To spray food or {programming fluid}s due to

laughing at the wrong moment. This sense appears to be

widespread among mundane teenagers - ESR.

6. This term was mainstream in the late 1960s, meaning "to eat

piggishly". It may still have this connotation in context.

7. A creature on the Thundercats, fond of eating, usually

covertly.

[{Jargon File}]

(1995-02-21)