fred 1. The personal name most frequently used as a metasyntactic variable (see foo). Allegedly popular because it's easy for a non-touch-typist to type on a standard QWERTY keyboard. Unlike J. Random Hacker or "J. Random Loser", this name has no positive or negative loading (but see Mbogo, Dr. Fred). See also barney.
2. An acronym for "Flipping Ridiculous Electronic Device"; other F-verbs may be substituted for "flipping".
