VDict - Definition of hosed

jargon A somewhat humorous variant of "down", used

primarily by Unix hackers. "Hosed" implies a condition

thought to be relatively easy to reverse. It is also widely

used of people in the mainstream sense of "in an extremely

unfortunate situation". The term was popularised by fighter

pilots refering to being hosed by machine gun fire (date?).

Usage in hackerdom dates back to CMU in the 1970s or

earlier.

Or Software Error Detected", though this is probably a

back-formation.

The Jargon File version 4.1.4 1999-06-17 says that it was

probably derived from the Canadian slang "hoser" (meaning "a

man, esp. one who works at a job that uses physical rather

than mental skills and whose habits are slightly offensive but

amusing").

One correspondant speculates about an allusion to a hose-like

body part.

Once upon a time, a Cray that had been experiencing periodic

difficulties crashed, and it was announced to have been hosed.

It was discovered that the crash was due to the disconnection

of some coolant hoses. The problem was corrected, and users

were then assured that everything was OK because the system

had been rehosed. See also dehose.