hackerish

hacker +‎ -ish

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

hackerish (comparative more hackerish, superlative most hackerish)

1. (informal) Resembling or characteristic of a hacker (technically skilled computer enthusiast).
   • 1985, Byte magazine (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.

2. (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.