Abridged Dictionary of the TMRC Language

The words defined in this dictionary are the property of the Tech Model Railroad Club of M.I.T. and all rights to use and define these words are strictly reserved.

Aaron Burr, The

TNP crack(ed) express passenger train. Denoted by zorch.

Abandon MITCo Now

cry of friction fans as opposed to traction fans.

Acquistion

a means of getting something for nothing. There are many of these:

Acquistion A

you dials your number, and you gets your/his train.

Acquistion B

you dials your number, and you gets the Outside Line.

Acquistion C, D, etc.

see an ancient FOB (vol. IV, no. 3).

Adjusting Tool

when in doubt, use a larger hammer.

Administraton

1) Government typesetter's error; 2) Quantum particle of bureaucracy.

Advance

that which if you don't have, you stop until you have.

AFROTC

not to be confused with a FROTSUS.

ARRC (pronounced: Arrgh!)

the Automatic Railroad Runner Computer in the same ancient FOB. (See also Kotok's Calamity.)

A.S.A.P.

as soon as possible.

Auto-play

(spider term) "Many hands make light work" ala TMRC.

Bag Biting

a moby lossage.

Bag Byting

using the TMRC PDP-11.

Bassex and Rowrfolk Counties Railway and Steam Navigation Company

1) is dead; 2) was a spectacularly large test track.

Benedict Arnold, The

counterpart to the Aaron Burr. As prompt as it is patriotic.

Blinking Sickness

a malady of the Old System. Signalled by a great thrashing of relays. Suppressed by "Reverse twice, call on, and go!".

Blocks 32, 33, and 34

at once subterranean, subaqueous, and sub-etheric. See Subway.

Blurb

public enlightenment.

Box

1) a group of small cardboard boxes under the layout, labelled from A1 to BB6 bearing electrical refuse; 2) a larger wooden enclosure, under the east end of the Tower, labelled with railroad heralds, bearing member's goodies.

Bridge

1) a span between two points not directly connected by ground; 2) a card game played in three phases: 1. bidding 2. play 3. recrimination.

Broderick

a station on the TNP. See Freddy.

Bunky

1) that or he who is ridden; 2) a small wheeled cart for moving about under the layout. The prototype had 5 wheels.

Burns, Prof. S.K.

The Club's fa(c)ulty advisor.

Bylaws

articles of governing literature at TMRC.

Cabeese

defined plural of caboose.

Capable of Sustained Flight

try it and see.

Change Machine

1) see that old FOB under "Changed Fund"; 2) a former service of SNB&TCo; 3) a large green box hanging on the wall, which does not give change (directly).

Clod

beneath our feet.

Coca-Cola

1) sine qua non 2) subject of discussion and confusion, mostly consumption.

Coca-Cooler

a cooler for Coca-Cola.

Coca-Coolie

a coolie for the Coca-Cola Company.

Coke Fund

abolished June 2, 1959. Replaced by Emergency Fund and Coke Machine Fund.

Coke Machine

large red and white object that dispenses goodness of various flavors (in both senses).

Coke Machine Fund

a demonstration of the Club's railroading talent: an example of Machine legislation; replaced by the PCMF, another example thereof.

Comm.

short for COMMITTEE, or red tape.

Committee

long for COMM..

Constitution

1) governing article. 2) (capitalized) Historic memoribilia and tourist trap near City Square, Charlestown.

Constraint

restraint. See KOTOK.

Coolie

one who does menial labor; always in demand.

Crawl-Away

should have.

Crock

1) a KLUDGE that doesn't work; 2) something which fails the purpose of its design from the moment of its conception on; 3) something which by normal or accelerated decay is utterly worthless; 4) the typical TMRC undergraduate bridge player.

Crud

cruft.

Cruft

1) a naturally occurring phenomenon at TMRC; 2) that rubbish which accumulates around the Clubroom; attacking it with a broom only produces more.

Cupboard

a drawer with a door.

Data General

home for wayward DEC members; sometimes appearing with INC., as the opposite of DEC.

Deburr

preventitive maintenence for the AARON BURR.

DEC

1) home for wayward TMRC members; 2) a DEC PDP-11 decrement instruction 3) kind, gracious benefactor to us all.

Dike

to attack with dikes (diagonal cutting pliers).

Disaster

common occurrence at operation sessions.

Dismal

1) without steam; 2) the weather in Boston.

Dispatcher

Controls the routing of trains. Also called Little God. See crock.

Doorbell

A way of determining if someone is at the first-floor door. Usually doesn't work. Last one who can be proven to have entered the Clubroom must answer. Named "Roger Doxsey Memorial Doorbell" by Club motion on January 27, 1973.

Doxsey Spider

1) hairy eight-legged beast with nickel-silver legs living in block 31; 2) a version of Spider played on a two-by-four (on the two inch side).

Drawer

1) that in the Desk which holds miscellany; 2) those all over the place that hold members' equipment.

dt

time/infinity.

EAMOTFOSMIC

Elections And Motions Other Than Frowns Or Smiles Mentioned in Constitution. See Article 8 of the Bylaws.

Eccles' Hack

See Blinking Sickness. Eccles installed it, graduated, and will deny all knowledge of it.

Eclipse

darkens the sky and frightens the natives.

Emergency Fund

1) that which until June 2, 1959 was known colloquially as the Coke Fund; 2) that which after June 2, 1959, gains some obscure function of the profits from the Coke Machine.

Entripoppity

short for entropy, or inverse neatness. Is to be conserved at all cost.

Epoxy Journal

train with no conductor.

Ergo

therefore. E.g. the System: "Cogito ergo sum."

Exclusion

that which doesn't.

False Occupancy

false indication of real train or true indication of false train.

Fanta

short for "Fantastic Acid". Comes in several flavors.

Farzies (pronounced FAH ZEES)

A game played with Coke bottles.

Flavor

1) type (e.g. "What flavor of power does this kludge want?");
2) extreme goodness.

FOB, or Full Of Bull

The Club's newsletter (of sorts). Just as the name implies, we have to give them away. Always worth the purchase price.

Folly I

the first of a series of refrigeration devices.

Folly II

the second in a series of refrigeration devices.

Foo

the sacred syllable (FOO MANI PADME HUM); to be spoken only when under obligation to commune with the Deity. Our first obligation is to keep the Foo Counters turning.

Frazier Award, H. Clark

The Club's highest award.

Freddy

1) first name of Freddy Broderick, mentor of the club who lived in the basement of building 10 in years past; 2) a unit of electrical goodies, semi-infinite in extent.

Friodes

reversible diodes.

Frob

a protruding arm or trunnion.

Frotsus

See FROB. See also AFROTC.

Frown

a fall from the official faces.

Function of, a

post hoc, ergo propter hoc.

Fuse Alarm

a buzzer which goes off indicating a fuse is blown. Do not ignore or disconnect.

Gifford

the Club's first advisor.

General Operating Rules and Qualification Program

"Members whose duties are prescribed by these rules must provide themselves with a copy."

Government

1) the aglomeration of Officers. 2) a signed piece of paper associating names and duty numbers, as listed in the Constitution.

Governors

those who don't.

G.P.'s

general principles.

Grand Fils du Carton Noir

the grandson of the black box.

Green's Theorem

for any story, in any group of people there will be at least one person who has not heard the story. Mention of Green's Theorem is usually an example thereof.

Gronk

to cut, sever, smash, or similarly disable. Gronking parties are held at random intervals.

Gronkee

something which gets gronked.

Gronker

something which gronks, also any of the Club's tools.

Grumph

expression of mild disgust. Can be produced with a Queen of Spades.

Grunge

1) that which fills the Cambridge atmosphere; 2) to fill the Cambridge atmosphere.

Gunch

to push, prod, or poke at a device which has almost produced the desired result. Implies a threat to mung.

Hack

1) an article or project without constructive end; 2) work undertaken on bad self-advice; 3) an entropy booster; 4) to produce, or attempt to produce, a hack (3).

Hacker

one who hacks, or makes them.

Hair

complication without end. Gives "hairy" or utterly deep.

Hearts

another card game with three phases: 1. the pass 2. the play 3. the lament ("I got scrod!")

HNO3

nitric acid.

HOn3

three foot narrow gauge in HO scale.

HOn8

rewrite of HOn3.

I.E.

means i.e.

JOTTO

a guessing game of skill. Try "crwth" and see what happens.

Killianport

a station on the TNP made uninsurable by flying Budd cars. A hack on Killian Court.

Kludge

a crock that works.

Kotok

1) hereditary treasurer; 2) the ALAN KOTOK AWARD FOR FISCAL CONSTRAINT; 3) astronomical unit of refrigeration.

Kotok's Calamity

disaster which "be fell" the ARRC, clearing the way for the Windshield Wiper.

Kotok's Folly

see FOLLY I and FOLLY II.

LER

light emitting resistor. Ohm's law was broken.

Lose

to not succeed; to not win. To miss one's station. To not get advance. To get into someone else's advance.

Loser

chronically succumbs to Domine non sum dignus.

Magnetic Storm

magically amputates trains in two, or three, or ....

Ma Roto

amazing automation. Public enemy number one.

MBTA

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

Meeces

occasional furry visitors who are not urchins.

MITCo

transit (sic).

Minus

predecessor of ZERO.

Moby

universal adjective.

Mount Fungus Timber Company

1) has operating right over TNP track 2) operates all non-standard equipment.

MTA

the Metropolitan Transit Authority.

MTBA

Mean time between accidents.

Multiflush

stop-all-trains-button. Next best thing to the red door button. Also called FOO. Displays "FOO" on the clock when used.

Multischlunker

changes bei Eisenbahn into marsch, und schnell!

MUNG

recursive acronym, Mung Until No Good.

Murphy's Laws

1. If something can go wrong in a (the) system, it will.
2. There is always something to go wrong.
3. When things go wrong, they do so in the manner that yields the most difficulty.

Nova

bursts from obscurity into blinding brilliance, then disappears into even greater obscurity.

Occupancy

indication of presence of a train. See FALSE OCCUPANCY.

Officer

1. head of a committee (usually of one).
2. person responsible for listed duties in the Constitution
3. one who is officially in charge.
4. (capitalized) member of the local constabulary.
5. co-signer of government

Old System

system which preceded the new system. Famous for its infirmities, among them the blinking sickness.

Open House

pleases the Institute, sells lots of Coke, and occassionally has trains moving.

Operating Session

12 members versus 1200 relays.
Operators versus Hackers.
The Dispatcher versus the World.

Outside Line

formerly the line to East Campus, has been perverted in recent years to mean the Institute Extension.

PCF

Pseudo Computer Fund. Useful for buying parts for our Pseudo Computer.

PCMF

Pseudo Coke Machine Fund. Where the Pseudo Coke Profits go. See Coke Machine Fund.

Pessimal

the worst possible result. Opposite of optimal.

Pile

a vile of which is usually referred to.

Plywood Womb

(archaic). See WOMB BOX.

Principle of Maximum Inconvenience

Murphy's Third Law.

Psiton

elementary particle carrying the sinister force. The probability of a process losing is proportional to the number of psytons falling on it.

Punt

1. small boat with flat ends.
2. Spider move of last resort.

Reverse Twice, Call On, and Go

universal pallative for illnesses of the Old System.

Rule G

liberation (pun).

Samson

Peter Samson, former member, perpetrator of the original Dictionary of the TMRC Language.

S-Board

A Greenblatt product for better living. See KLUDGE. The Greenblatt S-Board was replaced by a computer driven one by Patton in the last hours before an open house, when the old one failed finally and catastrophically.

Scale Time

measured by the clocks on the D-Board and Coca-Bubblie. Ten times faster than real time.

Scalps

woven into the block forest by elves.

Scrounge

1) to search for, or find, equipment previously without a good home; 2) to acquire; 3) one who scrounges; 4) function of TMRC.

Scrounge Cart

a battlewagon used to cart back booty. Often part and parcel of the booty.

SED

smoke emitting diode. A friode that lost the war.

Sixty-Nine

reset to zero.

Smile

rarely given, almost never deserved.

Snarf

to grab something spontaneously or without permission.

SNB&TCo

an institution serving TMRC members for many years.

Spider

solitaire extraordinaire. For 2 or more persons. See also DOXSEY SPIDER.

Subway

Blocks 32, 33, and 34. A convenient way to make a train disappear.

Supervisor to Worker Ratio

approaches positive infinity.

System, The

unnecessary; after all, we could all make model airplanes.

S&P

source of signals? and power?.

Tarantula

hairy spider.

Temporary Committee

TMRC's only permanent sitting committee.

Three Hole Punt

dying gasp. See Punt.

TMRC

The Midnight Requisitioning Committee. Other known alias: Tech Model Railroad Club.

TMRC Standard Time

five minutes ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

TMRC Standard Tool Butter

all tools at TMRC are made from this losing material.

TNP

Tech Nickel Plate Railroad.

Tool

1) to set one's brain to the grindstone; 2) a human edge; 3) implements for work that don't.

Track-Cleaning Car

another Greenblatt product for better living. See KLUDGE.

Tucker, Carleton

our second faculty advisor.

Two Hole Punt

act of desperation. See PUNT.

Urchin

chief product of Cambridge and our Nation's first line of defense. Also our Nation's first line of offense.

Verzuh

1) a mythical place under the mountain; 2) Professor who built the Whirlwind computer.

WECo

source of electrical goodies.

WECo Card

scrap paper regularly mailed to us by WECo.

Whale

a large hill, thoughtfully provided by Nature to separate Berkmannville from Sawyer Junction. Collapsed in earthquake of 1974.

Win

opposite of lose.

Window Siding

1) true test of locomotive mettle. 2) ramp on which rolling properties of cuts of cars are often tested.

Windshield Wiper

ask JEM about plunger line switches.

Winner

one or something that wins; very rare at TMRC.

Womb Box

from PLYWOOD WOMB. Storage space for equipment.

Zero

1) a turkey; 2) one whose sum total is zero.

Zorch

1) to attack with an inverse heat sink; 2) to travel, v approaching c.

9TH, The

a level of communication attained most eminently by L. von Beethoven.

TMRC Standard Units

these units are on par with the farad for capacitance, i.e. they are so incredibly large that they are almost never achieved.

Allen

the unit of pessim.

Augean

the unit of B.S. Equivalent to 30,000 Bull Years.

Bennett

the unit of overdesign. Measured in capacitor clamps.

Blatt

the unit of GREENBLATT.

Comuzzi

the unit of crockitude. Alternate spelling Confusi.

Doxsey

the unit of sarcasm.

Eggers

the unit of parsimony.

Emery

the unit of miss-spent energies. Equals one if all energy wasted. Approaches two at TMRC.

Freddy

a unit of electrical goodies.

Gorin

a unit of raucous noise.

Herbie

a unit of scrap germanium.

Kotok

the unit of refrigeration.

Kotok Points

the unit of coke bottle collection.

Nelson

a unit of hackery.

Patton

the unit of delay.

Purbrick

the unit of over-construction.

Russell

the unit of trivia.