cruft

Meanings

Noun

• Anything old or of inferior quality.
• Redundant, old or improperly written code, especially that which accumulates over time.
• Meaningless and/or gratuitous content displayed on computer consoles in visual entertainment productions.

Verb

• To generate cruft.

Origin

• Circa 1959, MIT Tech Model Railroad Club. Unknown origin; possibly from Cruft Hall, built in 1915 as a gift from a donor named Harriet Otis Cruft. Cruft Hall was the radar laboratory of Harvard's physics department during the Second World War, which contained much old and unused technical equipment. Possibly , both of which may form on old abandoned things, or influenced by crud.