Zorch

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The Jargon File Parts of this article are based on the Jargon File, v. 4.4.7, a public domain document of hacker jargon.

zorch: /zorch/ v. n.

1. [TMRC] v. To attack with an inverse heat sink.
2. [TMRC] v. To travel, with v approaching c [that is, with velocity approaching lightspeed --ESR].
3. [MIT] v. To propel something very quickly. "The new comm software is very fast; it really zorches files through the network."
4. [MIT] n. Influence. Brownie points. Good karma. The intangible and fuzzy currency in which favors are measured. "I'd rather not ask him for that just yet; I think I've used up my quota of zorch with him for the week."
5. [MIT] n. Energy, drive, or ability. "I think I'll punt that change for now; I've been up for 30 hours and I've run out of zorch."
6. [MIT] v. To flunk an exam or course.

A track called Zorch was the B-side of a single called Captain Hideous, released by novelty artist Nervous Norvous in 1955. Norvous was heavily influemced by a radio comedian named Red Blanchard; the word "zorch" appears to have been coined on Blanchard's show in the early 1950s. The word itself had no meaning, but there where compounds using it that did -- "zorch cow", for example, was a variant of the Chicago-area slang "black cow" for a root beer float.

Sources

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