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83 definitions found

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) : [ foldoc ]


  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)

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Hack \Hack\, v. i.
     To ride or drive as one does with a hack horse; to ride at an
     ordinary pace, or over the roads, as distinguished from
     riding across country or in military fashion.
     [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Hack \Hack\, v. t. (Football)
     To kick the shins of (an opposing payer).
     [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Hack \Hack\, v. i.
     To cough faintly and frequently, or in a short, broken
     manner; as, a hacking cough.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Hack \Hack\, n.
     1. A notch; a cut. --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. An implement for cutting a notch; a large pick used in
        breaking stone.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. A hacking; a catch in speaking; a short, broken cough.
        --Dr. H. More.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. (Football) A kick on the shins, or a cut from a kick. --T.
        Hughes.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. (Computers) A clever computer program or routine within a
        program to accomplish an objective in a non-obvious
        fashion.
        [PJC]
  
     6. (Computers) A quick and inelegant, though functional
        solution to a programming problem.
        [PJC]
  
     7. A taxicab. [informal]
        [PJC]
  
     Hack saw, a handsaw having a narrow blade stretched in an
        iron frame, for cutting metal.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Hack \Hack\ (h[a^]k), n. [See Hatch a half door.]
     1. A frame or grating of various kinds; as, a frame for
        drying bricks, fish, or cheese; a rack for feeding cattle;
        a grating in a mill race, etc.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Unburned brick or tile, stacked up for drying.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Hack \Hack\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Hacked (h[a^]kt); p. pr. &
     vb. n. Hacking.] [OE. hakken, AS. haccian; akin to D.
     hakken, G. hacken, Dan. hakke, Sw. hacka, and perh. to E.
     hew. Cf. Hew to cut, Haggle.]
     1. To cut irregulary, without skill or definite purpose; to
        notch; to mangle by repeated strokes of a cutting
        instrument; as, to hack a post.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              My sword hacked like a handsaw.       --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Fig.: To mangle in speaking. --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Computers) To program (a computer) for pleasure or
        compulsively; especially, to try to defeat the security
        systems and gain unauthorized access to a computer.
        [PJC]
  
     4. To bear, physically or emotionally; as, he left the job
        because he couldn't hack the pressure. [Colloq.]
        [PJC]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Hack \Hack\ (h[a^]k), n. [Shortened fr. hackney. See Hackney.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. A horse, hackneyed or let out for common hire; also, a
        horse used in all kinds of work, or a saddle horse, as
        distinguished from hunting and carriage horses.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A coach or carriage let for hire; a hackney coach;
        formerly, a coach with two seats inside facing each other;
        now, usually a taxicab.
        [1913 Webster +PJC]
  
              On horse, on foot, in hacks and gilded chariots.
                                                    --Pope.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Hence: The driver of a hack; a taxi driver; a hackman.
        [PJC]
  
     3. A bookmaker who hires himself out for any sort of literary
        work; an overworked man; a drudge.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Here lies poor Ned Purdon, from misery freed,
              Who long was a bookseller's hack.     --Goldsmith.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. A procuress.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Hack \Hack\, a.
     Hackneyed; hired; mercenary. --Wakefield.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Hack writer, a hack; one who writes for hire. ``A vulgar
        hack writer.'' --Macaulay.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Hack \Hack\, v. t.
     1. To use as a hack; to let out for hire.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To use frequently and indiscriminately, so as to render
        trite and commonplace.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The word ``remarkable'' has been so hacked of late.
                                                    --J. H.
                                                    Newman.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Hack \Hack\, v. i.
     1. To be exposed or offered to common use for hire; to turn
        prostitute. --Hanmer.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To live the life of a drudge or hack. --Goldsmith.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  taxicab \tax"i*cab\, n.
     an automobile with a professional driver which can be hired
     to carry passengers; -- also called a taxi, and informally
     called a cab or a hack. The driver of a taxicab is
     referred to as a cab driver or cabbie, and sometimes as a
     chauffeur or hackie.
  
     Note: Taxicabs may be engaged by a prior appointment made,
           e.g. by telephone, or they may cruise for passengers,
           i.e. they may drive in city streets and stop to pick up
           pasengers when they are signalled by a prospective
           passenger. The act of signalling a taxicab (usually by
           a wave of the arm) is often called
  
     to hail a cab or
  
     to flag down a cab.
        [PJC]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Heck \Heck\, n. [See Hatch a half door.] [Written also
     hack.]
     1. The bolt or latch of a door. [Prov. Eng.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A rack for cattle to feed at. [Prov. Eng.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. A door, especially one partly of latticework; -- called
        also heck door. [Prov. Eng.] --Halliwell.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. A latticework contrivance for catching fish.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. (Weaving) An apparatus for separating the threads of warps
        into sets, as they are wound upon the reel from the
        bobbins, in a warping machine.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     6. A bend or winding of a stream. [Prov. Eng.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Half heck, the lower half of a door.
  
     Heck board, the loose board at the bottom or back of a
        cart.
  
     Heck box or Heck frame, that which carries the heck in
        warping.
        [1913 Webster]

From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) : [ jargon ]


  hack [very common] 1. n. Originally, a quick job that produces what is
     needed, but not well. 2. n. An incredibly good, and perhaps very
     time-consuming, piece of work that produces exactly what is needed. 3.
     vt. To bear emotionally or physically. "I can't hack this heat!" 4. vt.
     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. vt.
     To pull a prank on. See sense 2 and hacker (sense 5). 6. vi. To
     interact with a computer in a playful and exploratory rather than
     goal-directed way. "Whatcha up to?" "Oh, just hacking." 7. n. Short for
     hacker. 8. See nethack. 9. [MIT] v. 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.
  
     Constructions on this term abound. They include `happy hacking' (a
     farewell), `how's hacking?' (a friendly greeting among hackers) and
     `hack, hack' (a fairly content-free but friendly comment, often used as
     a temporary farewell). For more on this totipotent term see "{The
     Meaning of Hack". See also neat hack, real hack.