BIG RED SWITCH


Meaning of BIG RED SWITCH in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ n. ]

[IBM] The power switch on a computer, esp. the `Emergency Pull' switch on an IBM mainframe or the power switch on an IBM PC where it really is large and red. "This !@%$% bitty box is hung again; time to hit the Big Red Switch." Sources at IBM report that, in tune with the company's passion for TLA s, this is often abbreviated as `BRS' (this has also become established on FidoNet and in the PC clone world). It is alleged that the emergency pull switch on an IBM 360/91 actually fired a non-conducting bolt into the main power feed; the BRSes on more recent mainframes physically drop a block into place so that they can't be pushed back in. People get fired for pulling them, especially inappropriately (see also molly-guard ). Compare power cycle , three-finger salute , 120 reset ; see also scram switch .

Jargon File English vocabulary.      Английский словарь жаргона.