crash
= C =
crawling horror
crash and burn vi.,n.
A spectacular crash, in the mode of
the conclusion of the car-chase scene in the movie "Bullitt"
and many subsequent imitators (compare die horribly). Sun-3
monitors losing the flyback transformer and lightning strikes on
VAX-11/780 backplanes are notable crash and burn generators. The
construction `crash-and-burn machine' is reported for a computer
used exclusively for alpha or beta testing, or reproducing
bugs (i.e., not for development). The implication is that it
wouldn't be such a disaster if that machine crashed, since only the
testers would be inconvenienced.
--The Jargon File version 4.3.1, ed. ESR, autonoded by rescdsk.