Related:

• black art n. [common] A collection of arcane, unpublished, and (by implication) mostly ad-hoc techniques developed for a particular application or systems area (compare black magic).
  VLSI design and compiler code optimization were (in their beginnings) considered classic examples of black a...
• deep magic n. [poss. from C. S. Lewis's "Narnia" books] An awesomely arcane technique central to a program or system, esp.
  one neither generally published nor available to hackers at large (compare black art)...
• deep magic: [poss. from C. S. Lewis's "Narnia" books] n.
  An awesomely arcane technique central to a program or system, esp....
• black magic: n. A technique that works, though nobody really understands why.
  More obscure than {voodoo programming}, which may be done by cookbook....
• voodoo programming: [from George Bush's "voodoo economics"] n.
  The use by guess or cookbook of an {obscure} or {hairy} system, feature, or algorithm that one does not truly understand....
• black magic n. [common] A technique that works, though nobody really understands why.
  More obscure than voodoo programming, which may be black art, deep magic, and...
• heavy wizardry: n. Code or designs that trade on a particularly intimate knowledge or experience of a particular operating system or language or complex application interface.
  Distinguished from {deep magic}, which trades more on arcane *theoretical* knowledge....
• ain dance: n. 1. Any ceremonial action taken to correct a hardware problem, with the expectation that nothing will be accomplished.
  This especially applies to reseating printed circuit boards, reconnecting cables, etc....
• voodoo programming n. [from George Bush's "voodoo economics"] 1.
  The use by guess or cookbook of an obscure or hairy system, feature, or algorithm that one does not truly understand....