HTW Berlin Fachbereich 4 Internationaler Studiengang Internationale Medieninformatik (Bachelor) Info 1: Informatik I Winter Term 2022/23

These are definitions for some American terms and non-Java-related terms you might find useful. They were collected by Debora Weber-Wulff. If you are missing something, drop me a line!

A

Austin

The capital of Texas and the only city in that state that a non-Texan can actually live in. Austin is also a smoke-free city, which makes entertainment there quite enjoyable. The coffee bar across from the main building of the university actually serves real coffee, as opposed to the colored water most Americans drink as "coffee".

Automagically

Automatically by magic.

B

Badge

A name tag, usually encased in plastic with either a pin on the back so that you ruin your silk dress by pinning it on, or with a clip so that it can be put on the upper left coat pocket that most women's coats don't have. At many gatherings in America everyone wears badges, so that we don't have to remember names. Actually not a bad idea!

C

Charlotte's Web

A wonderful children's book by E. B. White, the author of "Stuart Little"

Cruise control

An apparatus on a car that can be set to keep the car at a constant speed. Useful for those long stretches of Texas desert at the official speed limit of 65 mph...

Chocolate chip cookie

A favorite childhood cookie. Also available in the Yuppie version at fancy cookie stores in malls around the United States. Try the recipe I have here.

Crib sheet

A piece of paper or other device that one puts information on for covert use during an examination.

D

Dexterous

Clever, skillful

Dud

A useless thing; A non-working thing, for example a dud bomb is one that does not go off; Packaged globs of chocolate that are little balls are called "Milk Duds"

E

F

Foo

Typical general variable name in computer science, especially liked by people who have been exposed to Lisp. Usually used with its friends, Bar and Baz. Comes from a military expression, fubar, meaning "f***ed up beyond all recognition". Related to snafu, meaning "situation normal all f***ed up".  You will soon understand this...

Fruit-of-the-month-Club

A company offers to send you a box every month with different fruits (or cheeses or books or whatever). Rather silly when you can get everything at your local shop or on the Internet, but makes a great Christmas present for grandmothers who already have everything they need.

 

G

Gizmo

A generic word for a fancy invention. Americans love gizmos, especially ones that have more than one function, such a thing that is a cork screw, a bottle opener and a nailfile. What else would you call such a thing?!

Glop

A rather largish amount of something that will go "slop" when you drop it on your shirt.

Gorey

Edward Gorey was an American writer and illustrator, born in the 1920s, who wrote darkly humorous, cryptic tales and drew spidery ink drawings that give you the creeps. Gorey has come to mean something unpleasant that makes you feel sick to your stomach.

H

Hairy

Literally, something with a lot of hair on it. Used to describe difficult or complicated things.

High school

Not a Hochschule (German) or högskola (Swedish) but the upper secondary schools in the United States, grades 7-12. Often divided into junior (7-9) and senior (10-12) high school, some school districts have middle high schools as well (9-10).

I

J

Jack and Jill

Nursery rhyme: Jack and Jill, went up a hill, to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after. Lots of interesting interpretations for this...

K

L

luncheonette

Also known as a diner. A little place, ususally along the side of some highway, where one can go for lunch. Not as standardized as McDonald's, usually with a friendly waitress to bring you your hamburger and fries and keeping those free refills going. Luncheonettes often have a "counter" with cushiony round swivel stools for folks in a hurry that aren't eating with friends.

M

Martian

A being from the planet Mars. Usually thought of as having green skin, webbed fingers and feet and some odd assortment of features such as eyes, noses, and sensors. Rather similar to professors.

Meat

The essence of something. A wonderful commercial on TV in America many, many years ago had a charming little old lady asking: "Where's the beef?" This became an often heard saying.

Moons

As in the expression "many moons ago". The moon represents a month, as a complete moon phase is approximately a month. The expression means "long ago" and has sort of an American Indian touch, as they measured time in moons and not in the strange sized months popular in American culture today.

N

(The) Never-ending story

Fantasy story by Michael Ende, a wonderful children's book that has something to say to adults as well.

O

P

Peanut butter and jelly

Favorite children's food, often eaten in seclusion by adults. Consists of two slices of soft bread with butter on each one, a big glop of peanut butter (which is mashed peanuts with sugars and emulgifiers and other things I can't spell and probably aren't good for you) on one piece and a big glop of some sort of jelly or marmelade or jam on the other. The pieces of bread are put together, peanut butter to jelly, sometimes sliced, and enjoyed. Some variations are peanut butter and honey (my favorite) or peanut butter and mayonnaise with cheese (my Dad's favorite).

Pie

One of the great American desserts. A pie crust made of flour, salt, butter and water (no eggs or baking powder, really!) is rolled out and pressed into a pie plate. Put your favorite berries or other dessert things like custard in it, and put another crust on the top. Bake and enjoy! Apple pie, for example, can be enjoyed with a slice of cheese on top or a scoop of vanilla ice cream, but not both at the same time.

Q

R

Radio button

My grandmother's radio used to have 5 buttons that you could push to select the channel. You were only allowed to have one of the 5 selected at any time. The only radios that have anything remotely like this anymore are car radios, as you are supposed to be concentrating on driving and not fiddling with a dial to find out why traffic is so bad this morning.

S

Stump, to

Puzzle; ask a question that can't be answered, much like the questions asked in class ;-)

T

teeter-totter

Also known as a see-saw. Found on children's playgrounds, two (or more) children sit on opposite sides of a plank that is secured in the middle somewhere. Fun includes trying to balance and keeping your opponent in the air so s/he starts to cry...

U

V

W

Widget

Term for a fancy invention (Americans consider themselves to be quite an inventive culture). Used in computer science to describe fancy things one might want to find on the screen in an interactive user interface.

X

Y

Z

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Last modified: 2009-03-28 16:37