folk

adj : (of music) characteristic of rural life [syn: {country(a)},

{folk(a)}, {hillbilly}, {western(a)}]

n 1: people in general; "they're just country folk"; "the common

people determine the group character and preserve its

customs from one generation to the next" [syn: {common

people}]

2: a social division of (usually preliterate) people [syn: {tribe}]

3: people descended from a common ancestor; "his family had

lived in Masachusetts since the Mayflower" [syn: {family},

{family line}, {kinfolk}, {kinsfolk}, {sept}, {phratry}]

4: the traditional and typically anonymous music that is an

expression of the life of people in a community [syn: {folk

music}, {ethnic music}]

filk

/filk/ [SF fandom, where a typo for "folk" was adopted as a

new word] A popular or folk song with lyrics revised or

completely new lyrics, intended for humorous effect when

read, and/or to be sung late at night at SF conventions.

There is a flourishing subgenre of these called "computer

filks", written by hackers and often containing rather

sophisticated technical humour. See {double bucky} for an

example. Compare {grilf}, {hing} and {newsfroup}.

[{Jargon File}]