can

	This is the JargonFile ^(V4.00) entry for can - Next: can't happen, Prev: Camel Book
:can: /vt./ To abort a job on a time-sharing system. Used esp. when the person doing the deed is an operator, as in "canned from the [[console]]". Frequently used in an imperative sense, as in "Can that print job, the LPT just popped a sprocket!" Synonymous with gun. It is said that the ASCII character with mnemonic CAN (0011000) was used as a kill-job character on some early OSes. Alternatively, this term may derive from mainstream slang canned for being laid off or fired.
* (text is auto-included via JargonExtension by mutante using jargon with VERSION 4.0.0, 24 JUL 1996* - JargonFile by Eric S. Raymond is in the public domain)*