Same as down. Used primarily by Unix
hackers. Humorous: also implies a condition thought to be
relatively easy to reverse. Probably derived from the Canadian
slang `hoser' popularized by the Bob and Doug Mackenzie skits on
SCTV, but this usage predated SCTV by years in hackerdom (it was
certainly already live at CMU in the 1970s). See hose. It is
also widely used of people in the mainstream sense of `in an
extremely unfortunate situation'.
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.
