In message , "Evan Hunt via RT" writes: > On Sat, Jul 15, 2017 at 04:01:26PM +0000, Vicky Risk via RT wrote: > > I thought the G in DIG stood for ‘grepper’ as in to use the grep utility. > > > > Am I wrong? > > Jeremy is correct; it is documented as "groper". The first version > of "dig" was written a long time ago, and while the word "grope" has taken > on some new connotations in US English in the decades since then, I believe > it was always intended in the dictionary sense of "feeling around blindly > in the dark". > > I'm not particularly enthusiastic about revising history because what was > at the time a slang usage has become commonplace, but Jeremy isn't the > first person to complain about it, either. Maybe we just don't need to > expand the abbreviation in the man page anymore. Removing the definition *is* re-writting history. That is how it is done. Things that you don't want to be known are just not said anymore. Instead add a [1] to groper and put the definition of the word in the man page. "[1] Definition: One who feels around blindly in the dark, searches for answers." This is just as important as the D in BIND meaning Domain, not Daemon. Gropers are also a type of fish. Google for Sydney Groper / Blue Groper. -- Mark Andrews, ISC 1 Seymour St., Dundas Valley, NSW 2117, Australia PHONE: +61 2 9871 4742 INTERNET: marka@isc.org