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ABEND
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ABEND /a'bend/, /*-bend'/ /n./ [ABnormal END] Abnormal
termination (of software); crash; lossage. Derives from
an error message on the IBM 360; used jokingly by hackers but
seriously mainly by code grinders. Usually capitalized, but
may appear as `abend'. Hackers will try to persuade you that
ABEND is called `abend' because it is what system operators do to
the machine late on Friday when they want to call it a day, and
hence is from the German `Abend' = `Evening'.
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