Michael Quinion’s recent entry on the origins of the term bun fight reminds me of the only person I know who uses the term in everyday conversation. John introduced a few interesting phrases to the QA department when we worked together, such as the (Newfoundland-based?) term fill your boots. Perhaps his most valued contribution to the language at work, though–certainly the most memorable, as it’s still in use months after his departure for greener pastures–is the jargon term PTFOE, pronounced put-foe
. I won’t define it in polite company (giving the population of the web more credit than it’s due, I’m sure) but simply point out that I recently discovered this somewhat similar French version that I’m going to adopt as an alternate definition when asked: protocole de transmission fondue-over-ethernet
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