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.

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