1. n. Common spoken name for ! (ASCII 0100001),
especially when used in pronouncing a bang path in spoken
hackish. In elder days this was considered a CMUish usage,
with MIT and Stanford hackers preferring excl or shriek;
but the spread of Unix has carried `bang' with it (esp. 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 shriek, ASCII. 2. interj. 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.
