Any menial, low-paying, unskilled, dead-end job, including (but not limited to) those in the fast food industry, which requires zero creative or intellectual involvement, and whose sole motivation is a paycheck (i.e., no one works a McJob because they like it or care about the work). The employee may also be required to wear a silly and degrading uniform. Examples outside of the food service industry include Wal-Mart greeter and movie ticket clerk.
McJobs are usually filled by teenagers, bored retired people looking for something to do, retards, and struggling single parents in need of a second income.
Turnover is high, but because practically anyone has the skills necessary to perform a McJob, the company can just hire more interchangeable McEmployees off the streets.
The term's allusion to mass-produced fast food implies both the mechanical, unfulfilling nature of the work, and the disposable, interchangeable manner in which the company treats its employees.
McJobs are usually filled by teenagers, bored retired people looking for something to do, retards, and struggling single parents in need of a second income.
Turnover is high, but because practically anyone has the skills necessary to perform a McJob, the company can just hire more interchangeable McEmployees off the streets.
The term's allusion to mass-produced fast food implies both the mechanical, unfulfilling nature of the work, and the disposable, interchangeable manner in which the company treats its employees.
by Greenie December 11, 2003
A style of techno/house music, noted for its prominent use of the of the Roland TB-303, a synthesizer with a distinctive (and very funky) sound. Variants include hard acid, acid house, acid trance, etc. Not all music that includes a 303 is necessarily acid, and not all acid music makes use of the 303 (but most of it does).
Some suggest that the word is derived from the phrase "acid burn" - a slang term from the early days of house music, referring to the practice of sampling from another musician's records (see bite).
Others cite a 1985 house single by Phuture called "Acid Trax", which is recognized as one of the first house records to make use of the 303.
A more concrete theory is that it refers to the drug LSD, which is commonly used at raves where acid house is played. Given the psychedelic nature of acid house, this interpretation is certainly part of the popular understanding of the term, if not necessarily its historic origins.
Some suggest that the word is derived from the phrase "acid burn" - a slang term from the early days of house music, referring to the practice of sampling from another musician's records (see bite).
Others cite a 1985 house single by Phuture called "Acid Trax", which is recognized as one of the first house records to make use of the 303.
A more concrete theory is that it refers to the drug LSD, which is commonly used at raves where acid house is played. Given the psychedelic nature of acid house, this interpretation is certainly part of the popular understanding of the term, if not necessarily its historic origins.
by Greenie December 10, 2003
In computer programming, code which flagrantly violates the principles of structured, procedural programming. Usually this means using lots of GOTO statements (or their equivalent in whatever language is being used) - hence the term, which suggests the tangled and arbitrary nature of the program flow.
Spaghetti code is almost impossible to debug and maintain, and rarely works well.
Programmers who write spaghetti code usually learned to code in an unstructured language such as BASIC, and never bothered to update their technical knowledge when they progressed to more serious languages.
Spaghetti code is almost impossible to debug and maintain, and rarely works well.
Programmers who write spaghetti code usually learned to code in an unstructured language such as BASIC, and never bothered to update their technical knowledge when they progressed to more serious languages.
by Greenie March 25, 2004
A form of hacking, as applied to telephone networks. Phone phreaks exploit weaknesses in the phone system to make long-distance calls for free, tap into other's calls, take control of lines, get free phone services, and the like.
Phreaks (or phreakers) are usually motivated more by technical curiosity and the hacker ethos than any criminal intent (although phreaking is most certainly illegal). To bounce a call through a dozen different switching systems around the world, to your friend next door - all for free - is regarded by phreaks as an accomplishment. The fact that they are committing fraud and felonies in the process is regarded as incidental - or perhaps part of the fun.
The tools of phreaking often take the form of "boxes", such as the blue box, red box, or beige box. These devices - whose names refer to their function, not their actual color - generate various useful audio frequencies or electrical signals. The "red box", which allows you to make free calls from pay phones, is the easiest to build and can be assembled using two parts from Radio Shack that cost less than ten dollars.
The archetypal phone phreak is John Draper, aka Captain Crunch, who began phreaking on the West Coast in the 1960s.
The practice of phreaking has declined in recent years, as phone networks have been upgraded from old analog systems to newer, less vulnerable digital systems.
Phreaks (or phreakers) are usually motivated more by technical curiosity and the hacker ethos than any criminal intent (although phreaking is most certainly illegal). To bounce a call through a dozen different switching systems around the world, to your friend next door - all for free - is regarded by phreaks as an accomplishment. The fact that they are committing fraud and felonies in the process is regarded as incidental - or perhaps part of the fun.
The tools of phreaking often take the form of "boxes", such as the blue box, red box, or beige box. These devices - whose names refer to their function, not their actual color - generate various useful audio frequencies or electrical signals. The "red box", which allows you to make free calls from pay phones, is the easiest to build and can be assembled using two parts from Radio Shack that cost less than ten dollars.
The archetypal phone phreak is John Draper, aka Captain Crunch, who began phreaking on the West Coast in the 1960s.
The practice of phreaking has declined in recent years, as phone networks have been upgraded from old analog systems to newer, less vulnerable digital systems.
by Greenie December 12, 2003
Derogatory term for a (usually younger) female, implying trashiness or tackiness, lower-class status, poor hygiene, flakiness, and a scrawny, pockmarked sort of ugliness. May also imply promiscuity, but not necessarily. Can apply to any race, but most commonly used to describe white trash.
by Greenie September 10, 2003
A man who patronizes a prostitute. A prostitute's business is known as "turning tricks". Compare to john.
by Greenie March 24, 2004
by Greenie December 12, 2003