The New Hacker's Dictionary

From ack to zorch—and with hundreds of other entries in between—The New Hacker's Dictionary is a comprehensive compendium of the remarkable slang used by today's computer hackers. Although it is organized in reference form, it is not a mere technical dictionary or a dry handbook of terms; rather, it offers the reader an armchair tour of hackerdom's myths, heroes, folk epics, in-jokes, taboos, and dreams—a riotous and thought-provoking unveiling of the continent-spanning electronic communities that knit hackers together.

This new edition of the previous best-selling Hacker's Dictionary is completely revised and updated, with almost five times as many entries. In addition to extensive detailing of hacker slang—arcane terms like bagbiter, quux, double bucky, crufty, and frobnitz, as well as better-known words like glitch, snarf, and bogus—The New Hacker's Dictionary also includes some fascinating lessons in hacker jargon construction. For instance, there's verb doubling ("Boy, what a bagbiter! Chomp, chomp!") and verb nouning (disgustitude, hackification), sound-alike slang, overgeneralization, and the -P convention (in which a word is turned into a question by the addition of the syllable "P." Thus, to ask someone to have dinner is "Food-p?" or—even better—to share a bowl of soup is "Split-p soup?").

Appendixes include a selection of classic items of hacker folklore and humor, a composite portrait of "J. Random Hacker," assembled from the comments of over one hundred respondents, and a bibliography of nontechnical works that have either influenced or described the hacker culture.

The New Hacker's Dictionary is compelling as anthropology, as lexicography, as humor, and as perhaps the most revealing portrait to date of the gifted people who are building the future of our information society. It is sure to be enjoyed by everyone from wannabes to wizards.