Talk:barnacle

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RFV-Sense is for definition: "A pirate". Also, if this sense is citable, is it specifically a pirate, or just any seaman? --Jeffqyzt 14:51, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

Outside of spongebob squarepants, I can't see it. Rfvfailed? --Connel MacKenzie 18:43, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Removed disputed sense. Andrew massyn 06:12, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Translation

spanish -> percebe (m)

Etymology for "spectacles" sense

John Camden Hotten's The Slang Dictionary (1873) suggests: "possibly a corruption of binoculi^[sic]; but derived by some from the barnacle (Lepas Anatifera), a kind of conical shell adhering to ships' bottoms. Hence a marine term for goggles, which they resemble in shape, and for which they are used by sailors in case of ophthalmic derangement." Equinox ◑ 21:28, 2 October 2020 (UTC)

Potential software engineering quotations

Some of these may not support the current definition, but they’re what I found on Google Books. (I ignored quotes that were clearly metaphorical, e.g., “like barnacles”.) [1][2][3][4] To be checked/added. 98.170.164.88 02:27, 24 May 2022 (UTC)

Also: [5], [6], maybe more on Usenet with good searching. There's an IEEE Software article called "Barnacles on the Software Ship", but it is not publicly accessible and I can't tell if it's about the same idea. 98.170.164.88 04:35, 24 May 2022 (UTC)

Sounds like dated slang to me, or from a very specific community. cruft is probably a more current synonym. – Jberkel 10:18, 24 May 2022 (UTC)