VJ Day

Victory over Japan day, being 15 August 1945, or in the US 14 August 1945, the day after Japanese forces surrendered in World War II.

— Wiktionary

Transfiguration

The miraculous event, on a mountain, when the face of Jesus "shone like the sun" before the apostles; the feast commemorating this event u2013 6 August (or 19 August in the Orthodox church)

— Wiktionary

Leibnizian, Leibnitzian

of or relating to Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz or to his mathematics or philosophy

— Princeton's WordNet

Leibnizian, Leibnitzian

of or relating to Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz or to his mathematics or philosophy

— Princeton's WordNet

Leibnizian

Of or relating to the philosophy of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.

— Wiktionary

Lammas

1st August, a quarter day

— Wiktionary

miniburger

A small burger.

— Wiktionary

mid-August

In the middle of August.

— Wiktionary

mid-August

Happening in the middle of August.

— Wiktionary

Augustly

in an august manner

— Webster Dictionary

horseburger

A burger made from horsemeat.

— Wiktionary

burgerless

Without a burger or burgers.

— Wiktionary

vealburger

A burger made with veal.

— Wiktionary

augustly

In an august or awe inspiring manner.

— Wiktionary

mid-August

Any time in the middle of August.

— Wiktionary

mid-August

the middle part of August

— Princeton's WordNet

goatburger

A burger made from goat meat.

— Wiktionary

beanburger

A vegetarian burger made from beans.

— Wiktionary

mooseburger

A burger made from moose meat

— Wiktionary

soyburger

A vegetarian burger made from soy.

— Wiktionary

duckburger

A burger made with duck meat

— Wiktionary

September, Sep, Sept

the month following August and preceding October

— Princeton's WordNet

September, Sep, Sept

the month following August and preceding October

— Princeton's WordNet

September, Sep, Sept

the month following August and preceding October

— Princeton's WordNet

July

the month following June and preceding August

— Princeton's WordNet

quarter-pounder

A burger weighing approximately a quarter of a pound.

— Wiktionary

chiliburger

A burger made of chili con carne

— Wiktionary

fishwich

A burger with a filling of breaded fish.

— Wiktionary

dog-day cicada, harvest fly

its distinctive song is heard during July and August

— Princeton's WordNet

dog-day cicada, harvest fly

its distinctive song is heard during July and August

— Princeton's WordNet

lamburger

A burger made with lamb instead of beef.

— Wiktionary

porkburger

A burger made with pork instead of beef.

— Wiktionary

turkeyburger

A burger made with turkey instead of beef.

— Wiktionary

salmonburger

A burger made with salmon instead of beef.

— Wiktionary

venisonburger

A burger made with venison instead of beef.

— Wiktionary

shrimpburger

A burger made with shrimp instead of beef.

— Wiktionary

clamburger

A burger made with clam instead of beef.

— Wiktionary

crabburger

A burger made with crab instead of beef.

— Wiktionary

tunaburger

A burger made with tuna instead of beef.

— Wiktionary

whaleburger

A burger made with the meat of a whale.

— Wiktionary

fishburger

A burger made with fish instead of beef.

— Wiktionary

crab burger

a burger with crab meat inside of it

— Wiktionary

Lammas

(England) former festival held on 1st August celebrating the harvest.

— Wiktionary

Whopper

A hamburger from the fast food company Burger King

— Wiktionary

tofuburger

A vegetarian burger using tofu in place of meat.

— Wiktionary

veggie burger

A burger patty made without meat or other animal products.

— Wiktionary

wayzgoose

a holiday or party for the benefit of printers, traditionally held in August

— Wiktionary

steakburger

A burger made with ground beef from a better-than-usual cut.

— Wiktionary

veggie burger

A burger containing a patty made without meat or other animal products.

— Wiktionary

onion dome

An onion-shaped dome, characteristic of august buildings in Moghul and Russian architecture

— Wiktionary

mushroomburger

A burger made with mushrooms in addition to, or instead of, meat.

— Wiktionary

augustness

The state or quality of being august or noble.

— Wiktionary

Little Boy

The nickname of the nuclear bomb dropped over Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945.

— Wiktionary

Augusty

characteristic of the month of August

— Wiktionary

Virgo

: The zodiac sign for the virgin, ruled by Mercury and covering August 22September 23.

— Wiktionary

Lammas

A modern pagan festival celebrated in early August celebrating the start of the grain harvest.

— Wiktionary

Fat Man

The nickname given to the nuclear bomb dropped over Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945.

— Wiktionary

Bartholomew tide

time of the festival of St. Bartholomew, August 24th

— Webster Dictionary

Superb

grand; magnificent; august; stately; as, a superb edifice; a superb colonnade

— Webster Dictionary

Augustness

the quality of being august; dignity of mien; grandeur; magnificence

— Webster Dictionary

Lammas

the first day of August; -- called also Lammas day, and Lammastide

— Webster Dictionary

nonburger

Not a burger, or not specializing in burgers

— Wiktionary

Hiroshima

A city in Honshu, Japan, devastated by the first atomic bomb dropped in warfare on August 6, 1945.

— Wiktionary

Fructidor

The twelfth and final month of the French Republican Calendar, starting on August 18 or 19.

— Wiktionary

Nagasaki

a city in southern Japan on Kyushu; a leading port and shipbuilding center; on August 9, 1945 Nagasaki became the second populated area to receive an atomic bomb

— Princeton's WordNet

Hiroshima

a port city on the southwestern coast of Honshu in Japan; on August 6, 1945 Hiroshima was almost completely destroyed by the first atomic bomb dropped on a populated area

— Princeton's WordNet

Majestic

possessing or exhibiting majesty; of august dignity, stateliness, or imposing grandeur; lofty; noble; grand

— Webster Dictionary

Virgo, Virgo the Virgin, Virgin

the sixth sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about August 23 to September 22

— Princeton's WordNet

Virgo, Virgo the Virgin, Virgin

the sixth sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about August 23 to September 22

— Princeton's WordNet

Virgo, Virgo the Virgin, Virgin

the sixth sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about August 23 to September 22

— Princeton's WordNet

Leo, Leo the Lion, Lion

the fifth sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about July 23 to August 22

— Princeton's WordNet

Leo, Leo the Lion, Lion

the fifth sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about July 23 to August 22

— Princeton's WordNet

Leo, Leo the Lion, Lion

the fifth sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about July 23 to August 22

— Princeton's WordNet

Fructidor

twelfth month of the Revolutionary calendar (August and September); the month of fruit

— Princeton's WordNet

Thermidor

eleventh month of the Revolutionary calendar (July and August); the month of heat

— Princeton's WordNet

Princely

suitable for, or becoming to, a prince; grand; august; munificent; magnificent; as, princely virtues; a princely fortune

— Webster Dictionary

Fructidor

the twelfth month of the French republican calendar; -- commencing August 18, and ending September 16. See Vendemiaire

— Webster Dictionary

July

The seventh month of the Gregorian calendar, following June and preceding August. Abbreviation: Jul or Jul.

— Wiktionary

Dormition, Feast of Dormition

celebration in the Eastern Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary's being taken up into heaven when her earthly life ended; corresponds to the Assumption in the Roman Catholic Church and is also celebrated on August 15th

— Princeton's WordNet

Dormition, Feast of Dormition

celebration in the Eastern Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary's being taken up into heaven when her earthly life ended; corresponds to the Assumption in the Roman Catholic Church and is also celebrated on August 15th

— Princeton's WordNet

Thermidor

the eleventh month of the French republican calendar, -- commencing July 19, and ending August 17. See the Note under Vendemiaire

— Webster Dictionary

Nagasaki

A large city in Western Kyushu, in Japan; it was annihilated by the second military use of the atomic bomb on August 9, 1945.

— Wiktionary

Elul, Ellul

the twelfth month of the civil year; the sixth month of the ecclesiastical year in the Jewish calendar (in August and September)

— Princeton's WordNet

Elul, Ellul

the twelfth month of the civil year; the sixth month of the ecclesiastical year in the Jewish calendar (in August and September)

— Princeton's WordNet

double double

A double cheeseburger with cheese on each burger (i.e., double cheese).

— Wiktionary

Ab, Av

the eleventh month of the civil year; the fifth month of the ecclesiastical year in the Jewish calendar (in July and August)

— Princeton's WordNet

Ab, Av

the eleventh month of the civil year; the fifth month of the ecclesiastical year in the Jewish calendar (in July and August)

— Princeton's WordNet

Thermidor

The eleventh month of the French Republican Calendar, from July 19 or 20 to August 18 or 19.

— Wiktionary

VP Day

Victory in the Pacific day, being 15 August 1945, the day after Japanese forces surrendered in World War II.

— Wiktionary

Virgo

a sign of the zodiac which the sun enters about the 21st of August, marked thus [/] in almanacs

— Webster Dictionary

Ab

the fifth month of the Jewish year according to the ecclesiastical reckoning, the eleventh by the civil computation, coinciding nearly with August

— Webster Dictionary

Etesian

periodical; annual; -- applied to winds which annually blow from the north over the Mediterranean, esp. the eastern part, for an irregular period during July and August

— Webster Dictionary

Transfiguratien

a feast held by some branches of the Christian church on the 6th of August, in commemoration of the miraculous change above mentioned

— Webster Dictionary

September

The ninth month of the Gregorian calendar, following August and preceding October. Abbreviations: Sep or Sep., Sept or Sept.

— Wiktionary

White Castle

The first fast-food hamburger chain and one of the oldest American fast-food restaurant chains, known for its Slyder, a small square burger.

— Wiktionary

Kingly

belonging to, suitable to, or becoming, a king; characteristic of, resembling, a king; directed or administered by a king; monarchical; royal; sovereign; regal; august; noble; grand

— Webster Dictionary

month

A period into which a year is divided, historically based on the phases of the moon. In the Gregorian calendar there are twelve months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December.

— Wiktionary

Adyghe Autonomous Oblast

Autonomous oblast of the Soviet Union in the Russian SFSR established on August 24, 1922 and existing until July 3, 1991, when it was elevated to the status of a republic and renamed Republic of Adygea.

— Wiktionary

Perseid

one of a group of shooting stars which appear yearly about the 10th of August, and cross the heavens in paths apparently radiating from the constellation Perseus. They are beleived to be fragments once connected with a comet visible in 1862

— Webster Dictionary

Nones

the fifth day of the months January, February, April, June, August, September, November, and December, and the seventh day of March, May, July, and October. The nones were nine days before the ides, reckoning inclusively, according to the Roman method

— Webster Dictionary

prisoner of war

A detained person as defined in Articles 4 and 5 of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of August 12, 1949. In particular, one who, while engaged in combat under orders of his or her government, is

— Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms

winter

Traditionally the fourth of the four seasons, typically regarded as being from December 23 to March 20 in continental regions of the Northern Hemisphere or the months of June, July and August in the Southern Hemisphere. It is the time when the sun is lowest in the sky, resulting in short days, and the time of year with the lowest atmospheric temperatures for the region.

— Wiktionary

Bull Run

a stream in Virginia, U.S., 25 m. from Washington, where the Union army was twice defeated by the Confederate, July 1861 and August 1862.

— The Nuttall Encyclopedia

Dog-days

20 days before and 20 after the rising of the dog-star Sirius, at present from 3rd July to 11th August.

— The Nuttall Encyclopedia

Saarbrück

a manufacturing town in Rhenish Prussia, on the French frontier, where the French under Napoleon III. repulsed the Germans, August 2, 1870.

— The Nuttall Encyclopedia

Assumption, Feast of the

festival in honour of the translation of the Virgin Mary to heaven, celebrated on the 15th of August, the alleged day of the event.

— The Nuttall Encyclopedia

Black Saturday

name given in Scotland to Saturday, 4th August 1621; a stormy day of great darkness, regarded as a judgment of Heaven against Acts then passed in the Scottish Parliament tending to establish Episcopacy.

— The Nuttall Encyclopedia

Fanconi Anemia

Congenital disorder affecting all bone marrow elements, resulting in ANEMIA; LEUKOPENIA; and THROMBOPENIA, and associated with cardiac, renal, and limb malformations as well as dermal pigmentary changes. Spontaneous CHROMOSOME BREAKAGE is a feature of this disease along with predisposition to LEUKEMIA. There are at least 7 complementation groups in Fanconi anemia: FANCA, FANCB, FANCC, FANCD1, FANCD2, FANCE, FANCF, FANCG, and FANCL. (from Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/dispomim.cgi?id=227650, August 20, 2004)

— U.S. National Library of Medicine

Ber`gamo

a Lombard town, in a province of the same name, and 34 m. NE. of Milan, with a large annual fair in August, the largest in Italy; has grindstone quarries in the neighbourhood.

— The Nuttall Encyclopedia

Sickness Impact Profile

A quality-of-life scale developed in the United States in 1972 as a measure of health status or dysfunction generated by a disease. It is a behaviorally based questionnaire for patients and addresses activities such as sleep and rest, mobility, recreation, home management, emotional behavior, social interaction, and the like. It measures the patient's perceived health status and is sensitive enough to detect changes or differences in health status occurring over time or between groups. (From Medical Care, vol.xix, no.8, August 1981, p.787-805)

— U.S. National Library of Medicine

Eugenius

the name of four Popes. E., St., I., Pope from 654 to 658 (festival, August 27); E. II., Pope from 824 to 827; E. III., Pope from 1145 to 1153; E. IV., Pope from 1431 to 1447.

— The Nuttall Encyclopedia

Lammas Day

the first of August, literally "the loaf-mass" day or festival day at the beginning of harvest, one of the cross quarter days, Whitsuntide, Martinmas, and Candlemas being the other three.

— The Nuttall Encyclopedia

August

originally called Sextilis, as the sixth month of the Roman year, which began in March, and named August in honour of Augustus, as being the month identified with remarkable events in his career.

— The Nuttall Encyclopedia

Otterburn

a Northumberland village, 16 m. S. of the border, famous as the scene of a struggle on 19th August 1388 between the Douglases and the Percies, at which the Earl of Douglas lost his life, and Hotspur was taken prisoner. See Chevy Chase.

— The Nuttall Encyclopedia

Northallerton

a market-town and capital of the North Riding of Yorkshire, 30 m. NW. of York; in the vicinity was fought the famous Battle of the Standard, in which David I. of Scotland was routed by the English, August 22, 1138.

— The Nuttall Encyclopedia

Qi

The vital life force in the body, supposedly able to be regulated by acupuncture. It corresponds roughly to the Greek pneuma, the Latin spiritus, and the ancient Indian prana. The concept of life-breath or vital energy was formulated as an indication of the awareness of man, originally directed externally toward nature or society but later turned inward to the self or life within. (From Comparison between Concepts of Life-Breath in East and West, 15th International Symposium on the Comparative History of Medicine - East and West, August 26-September 3, 1990, Shizuoka, Japan, pp. ix-x)

— U.S. National Library of Medicine

Nonconformists

a name originally applied to the clergy of the Established Church of England, some two thousand, who in 1662 resigned their livings rather than submit to the terms of the Act of Uniformity passed on the 24th of August that year, and now applied to the whole Dissenting body in England.

— The Nuttall Encyclopedia

Wilhelmina I.

queen of the Netherlands, daughter of William III., and who ascended the throne on his decease in November 1890; her mother, a sister of the Duchess of Albany, acted as regent during her minority, and she became of age on the 11th August 1898, when she was installed as sovereign amid the enthusiasm of her people; b. 1880.

— The Nuttall Encyclopedia

White Sea

a large inlet of the Arctic Ocean, in the N. of Russia, which is entered by a long channel and branches inward into three bays; it is of little service for navigation, being blocked with ice all the year except in June, July, and August, and even when open encumbered with floating ice, and often enveloped in mists at the same time.

— The Nuttall Encyclopedia

Smolensk

an ancient town of Russia, and capital of a government (1,412) of the same name, on the Dnieper, 244 m. SW. of Moscow; is surrounded by walls; has a fine cathedral, and is strongly fortified; carries on a good grain trade; here in 1812 Napoleon defeated the Russians under Barclay de Tolly and Bagration on his march to Moscow in August 1812.

— The Nuttall Encyclopedia

Integrated Advanced Information Management Systems

A concept, developed in 1983 under the aegis of and supported by the National Library of Medicine under the name of Integrated Academic Information Management Systems, to provide professionals in academic health sciences centers and health sciences institutions with convenient access to an integrated and comprehensive network of knowledge. It addresses a wide cross-section of users from administrators and faculty to students and clinicians and has applications to planning, clinical and managerial decision-making, teaching, and research. It provides access to various types of clinical, management, educational, etc., databases, as well as to research and bibliographic databases. In August 1992 the name was changed from Integrated Academic Information Management Systems to Integrated Advanced Information Management Systems to reflect use beyond the academic milieu.

— U.S. National Library of Medicine

Pleiades

in the Greek mythology seven sisters, daughters of Atlas, transformed into stars, six of them visible and one invisible, and forming the group on the shoulders of Taurus in the zodiac; in the last week of May they rise and set with the sun till August, after which they follow the sun and are seen more or less at night till their conjunction with it again in May.

— The Nuttall Encyclopedia

Bartholomew's Day, St.

24th August, day in 1572 memorable for the wholesale massacre of the Protestants in France at the instance of Catharine de Medici, then regent of the kingdom for her son, Charles IX., an event, cruelly gloried in by the Pope and the Spanish Court, which kindled a fire in the nation that was not quenched, although it extinguished Protestantism proper in France, till Charles was coerced to grant liberty of conscience throughout the realm.

— The Nuttall Encyclopedia

Gowrie Conspiracy

a remarkable and much disputed episode in the reign of James VI. of Scotland; the story goes that Alexander Ruthven and his brother, the Earl of Gowrie, enticed the king to come to Gowrie House in Perth on the 5th August 1600 for the purpose of murdering or kidnapping him, and that in the scuffle Ruthven and Gowrie perished. Historians have failed to trace any motive incriminating the brothers, while several good reasons have been brought to light why the king might have wished to get rid of them.

— The Nuttall Encyclopedia

Ruthven, Raid of

a conspiracy entered into by certain Scottish nobles, headed by William, first Earl of Gowrie, to seize the young king James VI., and break down the influence of his worthless favourites, Lennox and Arran; at Ruthven Castle, or Huntingtower, in Perthshire, on 23rd August 1582, the king was captured and held for 10 months; Arran was imprisoned, and Lennox fled, to die in France; the conduct of the conspirators was applauded by the country, but after the escape of the king from St. Andrews Castle the conspirators were proclaimed guilty of treason, and Gowrie was ultimately executed.

— The Nuttall Encyclopedia

Electors, The

or Kurfürsts, of Germany, German princes who enjoyed the privilege of disposing of the imperial crown, ranked next the emperor, and were originally six in number, but grew to eight and finally nine; three were ecclesiastical—the Archbishops of Mayence, Cologne, and Trèves, and three secular—the Electors of Saxony, the Palatinate, and Bohemia, to which were added at successive periods the Electors of Brandenburg, of Bavaria, and Hanover. "There never was a tenth; and the Holy Roman Empire, as it was called, which was a grand object once, but had gone about in a superannuated and plainly crazy state some centuries, was at last put out of pain by Napoleon, August 6, 1806, and allowed to cease from the world."

— The Nuttall Encyclopedia

Stanley, Henry Morton

African explorer, born in Denbigh, Wales, in humble circumstances, his parental name being Rowlands, he having assumed the name of Stanley after that of his adopted father, Mr. Stanley, New Orleans; served in the Confederate army; became a newspaper foreign correspondent, to the New York Herald at length; was summoned to go and "find Livingstone"; after many an impediment found Livingstone on 10th November 1871, and after staying with him, and accompanying him in explorations, returned to England in August next year; in 1874 he set out again at the head of an expedition, solved several problems, and returned home; published "Congo and its Free State," "In Darkest Africa," &c.; represents Lambeth, North, in Parliament, having been elected in 1895; b. 1840.

— The Nuttall Encyclopedia

Pekin

the capital of China, on a sandy plain in the basin of the Pei-ho, is divided into two portions, each separately walled, the northern or Manchu city and the southern or Chinese. The former contains the Purple Forbidden city, in which are the Imperial palaces; surrounding it is the August city, in which are a colossal copper Buddha and the Temple of Great Happiness. Outside this are the government offices, foreign legations, the temple of Confucius, a great Buddhist monastery, a Roman Catholic cathedral, and Christian mission stations. The Chinese city has many temples, mission stations, schools, and hospitals; but it is sparsely populated, houses are poor, and streets unpaved. Pekin has railway communication with Hankow, and is connected with other cities and with Russia by telegraph. Its trade and industry are inconsiderable. It is one of the oldest cities in the world. It was Kubla Khan's capital, and has been the metropolis of the empire since 1421.

— The Nuttall Encyclopedia

Springfield

1, capital (34) of Illinois, situated in a flourishing coal district, 185 m. SW. of Chicago; has an arsenal, two colleges, and a handsome marble capitol; coal-mining, foundries, and flour, cotton, and paper mills are the chief industries; the burial-place of Abraham Lincoln. 2, A nicely laid out and flourishing city (62) of Massachusetts, capital of Hampden County, on the Connecticut River (spanned here by five bridges), 99 m. W. by S. of Boston; settled in 1635; has important manufactories of cottons, woollens, paper, and a variety of other articles, besides the United States armoury. 3, Capital (22) of Greene County, Missouri, 232 m. WSW. of St. Louis; has rapidly increasing manufactories of cottons, woollens, machinery, &c.; in the vicinity was fought the battle of Wilson's Creek, 10th August 1861. 4, Capital (38) of Clark County, Ohio, on Lagonda Creek and Mad River, 80 m. NE. of Cincinnati; is an important railway centre, and possesses numerous factories of machinery, bicycles, paper, &c.

— The Nuttall Encyclopedia

Dreyfus, l'Affaire

. On 23rd December 1894, Alfred Dreyfus, an Alsatian Jew, captain of French Artillery; was by court-martial found guilty of revealing to a foreign power secrets of national defence, and sentenced to degradation and perpetual imprisonment; he constantly maintained his innocence, and, in time, the belief that he had been unjustly condemned became prevalent, and a revision of the trial being at length ordered, principally through the exertions of Colonel Picquart and Zola, the well-known author, Dreyfus was brought back from Cayenne, where he had been kept a close prisoner and cruelly treated, and a fresh trial at Rennes began on 6th August 1899, and lasted till 9th September; the proceedings, marked by scandalous "scenes," and by an attempt to assassinate one of prisoner's counsel—disclosed an alarmingly corrupt condition of affairs in some lines of French public life under the Republic of the time, and terminated in a majority verdict of "guilty"; M. Dreyfus was set at liberty on 20th September, the sentence of ten years' imprisonment being remitted; b. 1860.

— The Nuttall Encyclopedia

saga

[WPI] A cuspy but bogus raving story about N random broken people.

Here is a classic example of the saga form, as told by Guy L. Steele:

kremvax

[from the then-large number of Usenet VAXen with names of the form foovax] Originally, a fictitious Usenet site at the Kremlin, announced on April 1, 1984 in a posting ostensibly originated there by Soviet leader Konstantin Chernenko. The posting was actually forged by Piet Beertema as an April Fool's joke. Other fictitious sites mentioned in the hoax were moskvax and kgbvax. This was probably the funniest of the many April Fool's forgeries perpetrated on Usenet (which has negligible security against them), because the notion that Usenet might ever penetrate the Iron Curtain seemed so totally absurd at the time.

In fact, it was only six years later that the first genuine site in Moscow, demos.su, joined Usenet. Some readers needed convincing that the postings from it weren't just another prank. Vadim Antonov, senior programmer at Demos and the major poster from there up to mid-1991, was quite aware of all this, referred to it frequently in his own postings, and at one point twitted some credulous readers by blandly asserting that he was a hoax!

Eventually he even arranged to have the domain's gateway site named kremvax, thus neatly turning fiction into fact and demonstrating that the hackish sense of humor transcends cultural barriers. [Mr. Antonov also contributed the Russian-language material for this lexicon. —ESR]

In an even more ironic historical footnote, kremvax became an electronic center of the anti-communist resistance during the bungled hard-line coup of August 1991. During those three days the Soviet UUCP network centered on kremvax became the only trustworthy news source for many places within the USSR. Though the sysops were concentrating on internal communications, cross-border postings included immediate transliterations of Boris Yeltsin's decrees condemning the coup and eyewitness reports of the demonstrations in Moscow's streets. In those hours, years of speculation that totalitarianism would prove unable to maintain its grip on politically-loaded information in the age of computer networking were proved devastatingly accurate — and the original kremvax joke became a reality as Yeltsin and the new Russian revolutionaries of glasnost and perestroika made kremvax one of the timeliest means of their outreach to the West.

— The New Hacker's Dictionary

back door

[common] A hole in the security of a system deliberately left in place by designers or maintainers. The motivation for such holes is not always sinister; some operating systems, for example, come out of the box with privileged accounts intended for use by field service technicians or the vendor's maintenance programmers. Syn. trap door; may also be called a wormhole. See also iron box, cracker, worm, logic bomb.

Historically, back doors have often lurked in systems longer than anyone expected or planned, and a few have become widely known. Ken Thompson's 1983 Turing Award lecture to the ACM admitted the existence of a back door in early Unix versions that may have qualified as the most fiendishly clever security hack of all time. In this scheme, the C compiler contained code that would recognize when the login command was being recompiled and insert some code recognizing a password chosen by Thompson, giving him entry to the system whether or not an account had been created for him.

Normally such a back door could be removed by removing it from the source code for the compiler and recompiling the compiler. But to recompile the compiler, you have to use the compiler — so Thompson also arranged that the compiler would recognize when it was compiling a version of itself, and insert into the recompiled compiler the code to insert into the recompiled login the code to allow Thompson entry — and, of course, the code to recognize itself and do the whole thing again the next time around! And having done this once, he was then able to recompile the compiler from the original sources; the hack perpetuated itself invisibly, leaving the back door in place and active but with no trace in the sources.

The Turing lecture that reported this truly moby hack was later published as “Reflections on Trusting Trust”, Communications of the ACM 27, 8 (August 1984), pp. 761--763 (text available at http://www.acm.org/classics/). Ken Thompson has since confirmed that this hack was implemented and that the Trojan Horse code did appear in the login binary of a Unix Support group machine. Ken says the crocked compiler was never distributed. Your editor has heard two separate reports that suggest that the crocked login did make it out of Bell Labs, notably to BBN, and that it enabled at least one late-night login across the network by someone using the login name “kt”.

— The New Hacker's Dictionary