Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
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- [klooj]
- /kludʒ/
-
- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [klooj]
- /kludʒ/
Definitions of kluge word
- noun kluge a software or hardware configuration that, while inelegant, inefficient, clumsy, or patched together, succeeds in solving a specific problem or performing a particular task. 1
- noun kluge Something that should not work, but does. 1
- noun Technical meaning of kluge (jargon) /klooj/, /kluhj/ (From German "klug" /kloog/ - clever and Scottish "kludge") 1. A Rube Goldberg (or Heath Robinson) device, whether in hardware or software. The spelling "kluge" (as opposed to "kludge") was used in connection with computers as far back as the mid-1950s and, at that time, was used exclusively of *hardware* kluges. 2. (programming) A clever programming trick intended to solve a particular nasty case in an expedient, if not clear, manner. Often used to repair bugs. Often involves ad-hockery and verges on being a crock. In fact, the TMRC Dictionary defined "kludge" as "a crock that works". 3. Something that works for the wrong reason. 4. (WPI) A feature that is implemented in a rude manner. In 1947, the "New York Folklore Quarterly" reported a classic shaggy-dog story "Murgatroyd the Kluge Maker" then current in the Armed Forces, in which a "kluge" was a complex and puzzling artifact with a trivial function. Other sources report that "kluge" was common Navy slang in the WWII era for any piece of electronics that worked well on shore but consistently failed at sea. However, there is reason to believe this slang use may be a decade older. Several respondents have connected it to the brand name of a device called a "Kluge paper feeder" dating back at least to 1935, an adjunct to mechanical printing presses. The Kluge feeder was designed before small, cheap electric motors and control electronics; it relied on a fiendishly complex assortment of cams, belts, and linkages to both power and synchronise all its operations from one motive driveshaft. It was accordingly tempermental, subject to frequent breakdowns, and devilishly difficult to repair - but oh, so clever! One traditional folk etymology of "klugen" makes it the name of a design engineer; in fact, "Kluge" is a surname in German, and the designer of the Kluge feeder may well have been the man behind this myth. 1
- noun kluge A device assembled from components intended for disparate purposes. 0
Information block about the term
Origin of kluge
First appearance:
before 1960 One of the 3% newest English words
First recorded in 1960-65; expressive coinage
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Kluge
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
kluge popularity
A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 55% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.
kluge usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerTop questions with kluge
- what is kluge?
- what does kluge mean?