Editing Kludge (section)

== Kludge vs. kluge ==
The ''[[Jargon File]]'' (a.k.a. ''The New Hacker's Dictionary''), a [[glossary]] of computer programmer slang maintained by [[Eric S. Raymond]], differentiates ''kludge'' from ''kluge'' and cites usage examples pre-dating 1962. ''Kluge'' seems to have the sense of 'overcomplicated', while ''kludge'' has only the sense of 'poorly done'.<ref name="jargon" />

{{blockquote|1=
'''kludge''' /kluhj/
# n. Incorrect (though regrettably common) spelling of ''kluge'' (US). These two words have been confused in American usage since the early 1960s, and widely confounded in Great Britain since the end of World War II.
# [TMRC] A ''crock'' that works. (A long-ago ''Datamation'' article by Jackson Granholme {{sic}} similarly said: "An ill-assorted collection of poorly matching parts, forming a distressing whole.")
# v. To use a kludge to get around a problem. "I've kludged around it for now, but I'll fix it up properly later."
}}

This ''Jargon File'' entry notes that ''kludge'' apparently derives via British military slang from [[Scots language|Scots]] {{lang|sco|cludge/cludgie}} ('toilet'), and became confused with American ''kluge'' during or after World War II.<ref name="jargon" />

{{blockquote|1=
'''kluge''': /klooj/ [from the German {{lang|de|klug}}, 'clever'; poss. related to Polish & Russian {{lang|pl|klucz}} ('a key, a hint, a main point')]
# n. A [[Rube Goldberg]] (or [[Heath Robinson]]) device, whether in hardware or software.
# n. A clever programming trick intended to solve a particular nasty case in an expedient, if not clear, manner. Often used to repair bugs. Often involves ad-hockery and verges on being a crock.
# n. Something that works for the wrong reason.
# vt. To insert a kluge into a program. "I've kluged this routine to get around that weird bug, but there's probably a better way."
# [<nowiki />[[Worcester Polytechnic Institute|WPI]]<nowiki />] n. A feature that is implemented in a rude manner.
}}

This entry notes ''kluge'', which is now often spelled ''kludge'', "was the original spelling, reported around computers as far back as the mid-1950s and, at that time, used exclusively of hardware kluges".<ref name="jargon" />

''Kluge'' "was common Navy slang in the [[World War II]] era for any piece of electronics that worked well on shore but consistently failed at sea".<ref name="jargon" /> A summary of a 1947 article in the ''New York Folklore Quarterly'' states:<ref name="folklore">{{cite journal |last=Nolan Underwood |first=Agnes |title=Folklore from G.I. Joe |journal=New York Folklore Quarterly |date=Winter 1947 |publisher=New York Folklore Society |volume=III |issue=4 |pages=285–297}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://our-local.co.uk/index.php?topic=23170.5;wap2 |title=Obsolete Occupations |work=Chew the Cud |via=Our-Local.co.uk |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190403094004/https://our-local.co.uk/index.php?topic=23170.5;wap2 |archive-date=April 3, 2019}}</ref>

{{blockquote|1=On being drafted into the navy, Murgatroyd gave his profession as "kluge maker"&nbsp;.... Whenever Murgatroyd was asked what he was doing, he said he was making a kluge, and actually he was one of the world's best kluge makers. Not wanting to seem ignorant, his superiors kept giving him commendations and promotions.&nbsp;... One day&nbsp;... the admiral asked him what a kluge was&nbsp;– the first person ever to do so. Murgatroyd said it was hard to explain, but he would make one so the admiral could see what it was. After a couple of days, he returned with a complex object.

"Interesting," said the admiral, "but what does it do?" In reply, Murgatroyd dropped it over the side of the ship. As the thing sank, it went "kluge".
}}

The ''Jargon File'' further includes ''kluge around'', 'to avoid a bug or difficult condition by inserting a kluge', and ''kluge up'', 'to lash together a quick hack to perform a task'.

After Granholm's 1962 article popularized the ''kludge'' variant, both were interchangeably used and confused. The ''Jargon File'' concludes:<ref name="jargon" />

{{blockquote|The result of this history is a tangle. Many younger U.S. hackers pronounce the word as /klooj/ but spell it, incorrectly for its meaning and pronunciation, as 'kludge'. ... British hackers mostly learned /kluhj/ orally, use it in a restricted negative sense and are at least consistent. European hackers have mostly learned the word from written American sources and tend to pronounce it /kluhj/ but use the wider American meaning! Some observers consider this mess appropriate in view of the word's meaning.}}