Definitions
Wiktionary
- n. Something that should not work, but does.
- n. A device assembled from components intended for disparate purposes.
Etymologies
- U.S. military slang, probably from the German klug ("clever"). (Wiktionary)
Examples
“Lorentz relativity was presented as a "kluge" to the Aether.”
“In this lucid and revealing book, Marcus argues that the mind is not an elegantly designed organ but rather a "kluge," a clumsy, cobbled-together contraption.”
“I've been working through a kluge of user feedback and other approaches to IE6 testing.”
What’s New In The Windows 7 Release Candidate | Lifehacker Australia
“Because the brain is a kluge, things don't always happen in the most efficient or rational way.”
The Huffington Post: Valerie Tarico: God's Emotions: What Are Emotions Anyway? (Part 4)
“But let the "leadership" get involved (like Ares) - and you end up with a kluge of hardware designed in the 60s and 70s.”
“This year, Gates seeks to end further production of the superfluous C-17 transport and kill off a second engine for the high cost, kluge-like F-35 "Joint Strike Fighter.”
The Huffington Post: Winslow T. Wheeler: Nightmare Budget Scenario at the Pentagon
“Von Kluge now demonstrated the passive-aggressive cleverness that had earned him the malicious although probably justified sobriquet of “Der kluge Hans,” clever Hans.”
“Constellation is a kluge of hardware designed in the 60s and 70s and pretty much says to the world - "this is the best we can do in america - recycle previous glory".”
“I think the Ares I is a kluge of the first order, and Ares V's design is pretty nebulous.”
“I sort have a kluge now from the LJ feed, but being able to see the blog text in my inbox would be more convient.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘kluge’.
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connection
connect, link, intertwine, interlace, connective, conjunction, joined, coadunate, connexion, interdigitate, ligature, transilient and 40 more...
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Twitter favorites
The new favourite words of people on Twitter.
A script searches Twitter for "X is my new favorite word" and adds it to this list.
See also:
unfathomably, glice, cuh, fab, ciggaty, doll, thuggin, oxymoronic, pineapple, succubutt, griming, cheeky and 3027 more... -
bintalshamsa's list
My Favorite Words
weltschmerz, perspicacity, idée fixe, invigilator, salubrious, tchotchke, ex nihilo, invidious, malapropism, naïve, sardonic, elide and 1459 more...
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Words grabbed from real life conversa...
If I've seen it, heard it, or marvelled at it, I'll stick it here.
cruft, ermine, redundant, shakespearean, camino, marvelous, stupendous, chagrin, shaven, sleek, smug, stillness and 325 more...
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Tickles my humerus
I find these to be inherently funny.
cow tipping, bumblebee, homoscedasticity, seattle, wagga wagga, booby, pants, guacamole, poodle, fanny pack, nincompoop, svenborgia and 161 more...
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BetaRish's Words
brigand, teetotum, internship, thribble, neologism, readies, resfest, tohubohu, tanzen, regression, nutlet, bandolier and 111 more...
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unsorted
words that I should sort into other lists and learn.
sashay, perfunctory, insular, pelagic, alluvium, pabulum, berth, paludal, littoral, epithet, withe, squelch and 14 more...
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Nifty Misc
rechauffe, merrythought, fossick, flacon, douceur, prandial, barbican, chuffed, whinge, bumf, knackered, ponce and 37 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for kluge.
reesetee According to this article, it may have started out spelled this way, though. :-)
"Speculations on its origin abound: perhaps it descends from the German word klug, meaning clever, or from the 1930s-era Kluge brand paper feeder, which, according to The Hacker’s Dictionary of Computer Jargon, employed 'a fiendishly complex assortment of cams, belts and linkages.' Around midcentury, the word was adopted by the pioneers of early computing; a 1962 article defined a kluge (or kludge) as 'an ill-assorted collection of poorly matching parts, forming a distressing whole.'" -- Annie Murphy Paul, "Patch Job," NYT Online, 4/27/08
Apr 30, 2008
chained_bear Not to be a wanker or anything... I think this might better be spelled kludge. I have an acquaintance of long standing who is well known by this moniker.
Of course this spelling gets the point across as well... which is the point of language itself. Feb 6, 2007