- Crock (slang)
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A crock is a botched attempt or design to achieve something, particularly in engineering. An automobile with intentionally designed square wheels would be a crock. Crock itself is a slang word, meaning something which is broken down, worn out[1] or nonsense.
Most of Rube Goldberg's or Heath Robinson's unlikely machines were crocks, and therefore regarded as funny. In absolute contrast, however, there is little which is more condemnatory in an engineering context than to declare something a crock.
A kludge, by contrast, is typically something that works, albeit clumsily. A kludged design which did not work will probably also be a crock.
An early use of the term occurred at the MIT Model Railroad Club, and from there moved to computing and into computing terminology.
According to the Jargon File, the use of the word "crock" as engineering jargon is connected to its use for dishware by the American scatologism crock of shit, for more extreme examples of what would otherwise be known as bullshit.[2]
In sport, especially football, the word crocked can also be used as a synonym for injured when describing a sportsperson who is hurt to the extent that he or she is rendered unable to compete.
References
- ^ Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Random House, 2006
- ^ Crock, entry in the Jargon File
Categories:- Engineering failures
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