Contents page

Index (83KB)

tar and feather


tar and feather: [from UNIX `tar(1)'] vt. To create a
   transportable archive from a group of files by first sticking them
   together with `tar(1)' (the Tape ARchiver) and then
   compressing the result (see compress).  The latter action is
   dubbed `feathering' partly for euphony and (if only for contrived
   effect) by analogy to what you do with an airplane propeller to
   decrease wind resistance, or with an oar to reduce water
   resistance; smaller files, after all, slip through comm links more
   easily.