word usage - Is the use of the term "bugged" to refer to software bugs in English a worldwide or regional use?


In the 1950's, the primary uses of the word "bugged" was to describe a room that contained a hidden microphone, or to refer to a telephone line that was being tapped.


Over the last few years, I've seen more and more people use the word "bugged" to refer to a software bug.


For example, someone recently wrote, "That function returns the wrong value, it is bugged."


In contrast, I am used to people writing, "That function returns the wrong value, it has a bug."


Is the use of the word "bugged" to refer to software bugs now universally understood in the English language, or is it predominately used in specific regions?


As a bonus, does anyone know where this particular use of the word "bugged" (as opposed to "bug" or "buggy") originated, and when. Also, was the origin fostered by a specific cultural group?


UPDATE:


The number of programmers with decades of experience stating they have never encountered anyone using "bugged" in this context is notable. I postulate that this effect is a consequence of people largely being exposed to highly monolithic environments. For the non-programmers who state they have never heard people using "bugged" in this way, that is possibly just a reflection of their limited exposure to technical content, as every time I have seen it used has been in a technical context.


For any doubters, programmers or otherwise, here are just a few concrete examples from the real world:



For those interested, general web searches provide thousands of additional examples. Searches directly on technical websites provides many more examples.


(Note that the above are random examples pulled from a web searches. I apologize in advance if there is any inappropriate content. Many thanks to NVZ for making the list of examples easier to read.)




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

verbs - "Baby is creeping" vs. "baby is crawling" in AmE

commas - Does this sentence have too many subjunctives?

grammatical number - Use of lone apostrophe for plural?

etymology - Where does the phrase "doctored" originate?

phrases - Somebody is gonna kiss the donkey

typography - When a dagger is used to indicate a note, must it come after an asterisk?

etymology - Origin of "s--t eating grin"