bang
1. A common spoken name for "!" (ASCII 33), especially when
used in pronouncing a {bang path} in spoken hackish. In
{elder days} this was considered a {CMU}ish usage, with {MIT}
and {Stanford} hackers preferring {excl} or {shriek}; but the
spread of {Unix} has carried "bang" with it (especially via
the term {bang path}) and it is now certainly the most common
spoken name for "!". Note that it is used exclusively for
non-emphatic written "!"; one would not say "Congratulations
bang" (except possibly for humorous purposes), but if one
wanted to specify the exact characters "foo!" one would speak
"Eff oh oh bang".
See {pling}, {shriek}, {ASCII}.
2. An exclamation signifying roughly "I have achieved
enlightenment!", or "The dynamite has cleared out my brain!"
Often used to acknowledge that one has perpetrated a {thinko}
immediately after one has been called on it.
[{Jargon File}]
(1995-01-31)