English

Noun

frob ‎(plural frobs)

1. (jargon, MIT) Any small device or object (usually hand-sized) which can be manipulated.

   Hand me that frob there, will you?

Verb

frob ‎(third-person singular simple present frobs, present participle frobbing, simple past and past participle frobbed)

1. (jargon, MIT) To manipulate objects considered to be frobs.

   Hey, frob the switch.

2. (jargon, MIT) To manipulate equipment without any knowledge.

   Hey! Stop frobbing that oscilloscope! You'll break it.

3. (jargon, Silicon Valley) To perform a task that is clear to the speaker but too complex or tedious to be explained, so that outside help is not helpful.

   Why don't you go get lunch? I need to frob with this thing for about 30 minutes and then we'll be good to go.

Usage notes

Sometimes contrasted with twiddle and tweak: frob for aimless manipulation, twiddle for coarse manipulation, and tweak for fine manipulation.^[1]

Related terms

• frobnicate
• frobnitz

See also

• futz
• tweak
• twiddle

References

1. 1 2 "frobnicate" in the Jargon File
2. ↑ Peter Samson, AN ABRIDGED DICTIONARY of the TMRC LANGUAGE June 1959 (with 2005 commentary), AN ABRIDGED DICTIONARY of the TMRC LANGUAGE late summer/early fall 1960 (with 2005 commentary)

References

• frob, in The New Hacker's Dictionary, 1996, by Eric S. Raymond.
• "frob" in the Jargon File
• "frobnicate" in the Jargon File