adchen@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Anthony Dunyeh Chen) (04/09/89)
In article <7999@boulder.Colorado.EDU> fozzard@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Richard Fozzard) writes: >In article <669@occrsh.ATT.COM> jdsb@occrsh.ATT.COM (John_Babcock) writes: >>P.S. What is foo in foo.bat? > >My guess is that "foo", a common scratch name for things (files, etc.), esp. >in LISP, comes from the military expression "foobar" or "fubar" - Fucked Up >Beyond All Repair. So long as we're on this subject, the most used abbreviation/acronym is none other than: OK. I believe it originated from Andrew Jackson when someone asked him to sign a document, so he wrote "OK", meaning "Ol Korrect". (sorry if this is way beyond the normal comp.sys.mac topics...) Tony Chen adchen@phoenix.princeton.edu
gmw1@CUNIXD.CC.COLUMBIA.EDU (Gabe M Wiener) (04/09/89)
In article <7650@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> adchen@phoenix.Princeton.EDU writes: >So long as we're on this subject, the most used abbreviation/acronym is >none other than: OK. > >I believe it originated from Andrew Jackson when someone asked him to >sign a document, so he wrote "OK", meaning "Ol Korrect". Sorry for this total digression from mac stuff, but this is one of my favorite topics of uselss information: The term "OK" originated in the presidential campaign of 1840. Ven Buren was running on the Democratic ticket, and jackson was giving him full support. "OK" stood for Old Kinderhook, the location of Van Buren's home. It was used as a code to indicate meetings at Democratic clubs in New York. Thus a paper stamped OK would be passed off to the appropriate club. The whigs, unable to determine the meaning, assumed that it stood for "Oll Korrect." "The general was never good at spelling." Back to mac topics, people :-) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-\******/=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Gabe Wiener -- Columbia University \****/ "It doesn't matter how sincere it \**/ is, nor how heart-felt the spirit. INTERNET: gmw1@cunixd.cc.columbia.edu \/ Sentiment will not endear it. BITNET: gmw1@cunixc /\ What's important is the price." COMPUSERVE: 72355,1226 /**\ - Tom Lehrer WUI: 650-117-9118 /****\ on gift giving =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-/******\=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
adchen@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Anthony Dunyeh Chen) (04/10/89)
In article <8904091514.AA25332@cunixd.cc.columbia.edu> gmw1@cunixd.cc.columbia.edu (Gabe M Wiener) writes: >topics of uselss information: > >paper stamped OK would be passed off to the appropriate club. The whigs, >unable to determine the meaning, assumed that it stood for "Oll Korrect." >"The general was never good at spelling." > >Back to mac topics, people :-) > Hey thanks Gabe...I stand Korrected...:-) Now, back to Mac talk for good... Tony Chen adchen@phoenix.princeton.edu
fozzard@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Richard Fozzard) (04/11/89)
In article <8904091514.AA25332@cunixd.cc.columbia.edu> gmw1@cunixd.cc.columbia.edu (Gabe M Wiener) writes: > >Back to mac topics, people :-) > ps: what does ":-)" mean? pps: why does everybody who complains that something should not be in a mac (or other) newsgroup write about it anyway - then complain? Not all of us are employed full-time reading newsgroups, and so occasionally miss articles posted to comp.obscure.abbreviations or wherever such topics "should be". ======================================================================== Richard Fozzard University of Colorado "Serendipity empowers" fozzard@boulder.colorado.edu