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Metasyntactic variables (was Re: is it possible run 32-bit app on 64-bit amd system??)

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On Wed, Aug 14, 2019 at 07:19:40AM -0000, Curt wrote:
> I thought this was what metasyntactic variables were for, the occasional
> foo for the occasional fool, but maybe not, and anyway, the fool is
> often quite cleverly foolish, working around the best of intentions
> easily.

The most authoritative source for the origins of "foo", "bar" and "foobar"
is <http://catb.org/jargon/html/F/foo.html>.

  When ‘foo’ is used in connection with ‘bar’ it has generally
  traced to the WWII-era Army slang acronym FUBAR (‘Fucked Up Beyond All
  Repair’ or ‘Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition’), later modified to
  foobar. Early versions of the Jargon File interpreted this change as a
  post-war bowdlerization, but it it now seems more likely that FUBAR was
  itself a derivative of ‘foo’ perhaps influenced by German furchtbar
  (terrible) — ‘foobar’ may actually have been the original form.

Much interesting material follows that.  Really surprising in many cases.

It appears that ESR may have missed one of the jokes. "Many smoke but foo
men chew" isn't nonsense -- it's a pun on Fu Manchu, and chewing tobacco.
I think I've actually seen it written as "Many smoke but few man chew"
which makes the punnish origin clearer.  ESR's version may have been
derived from mine ("few man" -> "foo men"), but I don't have a citation
available for mine; I'm just going from old, foggy memories.

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is it possible run 32-bit app on 64-bit amd system?? Long Wind <longwind2@yahoo.com> - 2019-08-13 02:20 +0200
  Re: is it possible run 32-bit app on 64-bit amd system?? Patrick Bartek <nemommxiv@gmail.com> - 2019-08-13 03:20 +0200
    Re: is it possible run 32-bit app on 64-bit amd system?? riveravaldez <riveravaldezmail@gmail.com> - 2019-08-13 05:00 +0200
      Re: is it possible run 32-bit app on 64-bit amd system?? Long Wind <longwind2@yahoo.com> - 2019-08-13 11:10 +0200
      Re: is it possible run 32-bit app on 64-bit amd system?? rhkramer@gmail.com - 2019-08-13 13:50 +0200
        Re: is it possible run 32-bit app on 64-bit amd system?? Greg Wooledge <wooledg@eeg.ccf.org> - 2019-08-13 15:30 +0200
          Re: is it possible run 32-bit app on 64-bit amd system?? Curt <curty@free.fr> - 2019-08-14 09:30 +0200
            Metasyntactic variables (was Re: is it possible run 32-bit app on  64-bit amd system??) Greg Wooledge <wooledg@eeg.ccf.org> - 2019-08-14 15:00 +0200
        Re: is it possible run 32-bit app on 64-bit amd system?? Erik Christiansen <dvalin@internode.on.net> - 2019-08-14 07:50 +0200
          Re: is it possible run 32-bit app on 64-bit amd system?? David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> - 2019-08-14 17:40 +0200
    Re: is it possible run 32-bit app on 64-bit amd system?? Long Wind <longwind2@yahoo.com> - 2019-08-13 15:30 +0200

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