May 18, 2013, 20:18
Robert ArvanitisClumsy fix or clever improvisation?
Great technical discussion at ArsTechnica on switches and routers, which called Cisco's IOS a "kluge."
Initial inquiry found differing senses for "kludge," meaning a clumsy fix, versus "kluge," where the improvisation gets at least grudging admiration.
So is it from a Germanic root for "clod," or "clever?
Cultural cognates include "redneck repairs" and "jerry-rigged."
Wikipedia suggests different origins for the two spellings, USA and British English, which have since become conflated. They don't seem to differentiate between the two spellings.
The original meanings might have been slightly different, though.
May 19, 2013, 07:13
zmježd klugeThe
Jargon File (the goto dictionary of nerdy slang) suggests that
kludge is the incorrect spelling of
kluge, the proper term). The latter entry goes over many suggestions of origin and etymology.
May 19, 2013, 21:27
KallehFrom one of those links:
quote:
[from the German ‘klug’, clever; poss. related to Polish & Russian ‘klucz’ (a key, a hint, a main point)]
Is this where
klutz originated?
May 20, 2013, 08:01
zmježd Is this where klutz
originated?Nope.
Klutz is from Yiddish קלאץ (
klots) < Old High German
kloz 'block, lump', cf. English
clot, Old English
clott. (Note that Polish
klucz is pronounced /'klutʃ/ (approximately, in bad English spelling
clootch.