hackerish

English edit

Etymology edit

hacker +‎ -ish

Pronunciation edit

Audio (UK) (file)

Adjective edit

hackerish (comparative more hackerish, superlative most hackerish)

(informal) Resembling or characteristic of a hacker (technically skilled computer enthusiast).
- 1985, Byte, volume 10:
  The hackerish look of dot-matrix fonts on screens and printers has partially prevented full acceptance of computers as tools for a literate public.
- 1990, Dr. Dobb's journal of software tools for the professional programmer:
  Jones is an engineer, and presented the engineering approach as the more hackerish, the more ad hoc of the two: Solve the problem no matter what.
- 2009, Damien Stolarz, David Jurick, Adam Stolarz, William Hurley, iPhone Hacks: Pushing the iPhone and iPod Touch Beyond Their Limits:
  There is a rich, hackerish tradition in the computer world of making any new computer or video game system emulate those that came before it.
- 2013, Joanna Biggs, “Tell me everything”, in London Review of Books, volume 35, number 7:
  Facebook’s unencumbered, efficient, agile, hackerish style is to make everything seem ‘easy’ – and when you need, in one of Zuckerberg’s favourite phrases, to ‘move fast and break things’, you just shrug.
(computing, informal) Resembling or characteristic of a hacker (malicious user who breaks into computer systems).
- 1995, Lance Rose, NetLaw: your rights in the online world:
  ...requires users to disclose new and useful information on computer and network security or other hackerish subjects to be admitted to the privileged areas of the system.
- 2006, Wally Wang, Steal this computer book 4.0: what they won't tell you about the Internet:
  To find a hacker chat room, look for rooms with names like #2600, #phreak, #carding, #cracks, #anarchy, or any other phrase that sounds hackerish.