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From: hutch@shark.UUCP (Stephen Hutchison)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: Just cruftiness: definition
Message-ID: <1295@shark.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 22-Mar-85 03:23:30 EST
Article-I.D.: shark.1295
Posted: Fri Mar 22 03:23:30 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 26-Mar-85 06:36:07 EST
References: <115@hocsm.UUCP>
Reply-To: hutch@shark.UUCP (Stephen Hutchison)
Organization: Tektronix, Wilsonville OR
Lines: 55
Summary: 

In article <115@hocsm.UUCP> pad@hocsm.UUCP (p.a.dunkin) writes:
>
>>>>MUNCH<<<
>Reference: <170@osu-eddie.UUCP> <484@harvard.ARPA>, <175@osu-eddie.UUCP>
>
>>>                                           Karl, what on EARTH does
>>> "crufty" mean?
>>> 	Marie desJardins
>>> 	marie@harvard
>>
>>Anyone out there with a convenient copy of The Hacker's Dictionary care to
>>post the, uh, "official" definition?
>>-- 
>>Karl Kleinpaste @ Bell Labs, Columbus    614/860-5107  +==-> _c_b_r_m_a_!_k_k
>>                @ Ohio State University  614/422-0915  osu-eddie!karl
>
>CRUFT:
>    1. noun. An unpleasant substance.  The dust that gathers
>    under your bed is cruft.
>    2. noun. The results of shoddy construction....
>    The origin of this word is unknown.
>CRUFTY:
>    1. adjective. Unpleasant, especially to the touch; yucky,
>    like spilled coffee smeared with peanut butter and catsup.
>    2. adjective. Poorly built, possibly overly complex....
>CRUFTSMANSHIP noun. The antithesis of craftsmanship.
>
>Excerpted from _the_Hacker's_Dictionary_, an enlightening and
>amusing reference work which is useful for communication with
>{ real programmers | hackers | people who want to sound  like
>either of the preceding }.
>
>Pat Dunkin (...houxm!ahuta!hocsm!pad)

I understood it immediately to be a pseudo-archaism of "crusty"
which slangen for something like a half-healed scab or cut, or
something with a filthy crust upon it.

The archaism comes from the way that "s" used to be written all
drawn out, thusly:


			     ##  #          
			    #    #          
	 ###  # ##  #   #   #   ####  #   # 
	#     ##  # #   #   #    #    #   # 
	#     #     #   #   #    #    #   # 
	#     #     #   #   #    #  #  # #  
	 ###  #      ###    #     ##    #   
			    #	       #    
			  ##	      #     

So, the connotations were immediately obvious.

Hutch