What is "bug"

Bug \Bug\ (b[u^]g), n. [OE. bugge, fr. W. bwg, bwgan, hobgoblin, scarecrow, bugbear. Cf. Bogey, Boggle.]

1. A bugbear; anything which terrifies. [Obs.]

   Sir, spare your threats: The bug which you would fright me with I seek.
   --Shak.

2. (Zo["o]l.) A general name applied to various insects belonging to the Hemiptera; as, the squash bug; the chinch bug, etc.

3. (Zo["o]l.) An insect of the genus Cimex, especially the bedbug ( Cimex lectularius). See Bedbug.

4. (Zo["o]l.) One of various species of Coleoptera; as, the ladybug; potato bug, etc.; loosely, any beetle.

5. (Zo["o]l.) One of certain kinds of Crustacea; as, the sow bug; pill bug; bait bug; salve bug, etc.

   Note: According to popular usage in England and among housekeepers in America around 1900, bug, when not joined with some qualifying word, was used specifically for bedbug. As a general term it is now used very loosely in America as a colloquial term to mean any small crawling thing, such as an insect or arachnid, and was formerly used still more loosely in England. ``God's rare workmanship in the ant, the poorest bug that creeps.''
   --Rogers (
   --Naaman). ``This bug with gilded wings.''
   --Pope.

6. (Computers) An error in the coding of a computer program, especially one causing the program to malfunction or fail. See, for example, year 2000 bug. ``That's not a bug, it's a feature!''

7. Any unexpected defect or flaw, such as in a machine or a plan.

8. A hidden electronic listening device, used to hear or record conversations surreptitiously.

9. An infectious microorganism; a germ[4]. [Colloq.]

10. An undiagnosed illness, usually mild, believed to be caused by an infectious organism. [Colloq.]

    Note: In some communities in the 1990's, the incidence of AIDS is high and AIDS is referred to colloquially as ``the bug''.

11. An enthusiast; -- used mostly in combination, as a camera bug. [Colloq.]

    Bait bug. See under Bait.

    Bug word, swaggering or threatening language. [Obs.]
    --Beau. & Fl.

Bug \Bug\ (b[u^]g), v. t. to annoy; to bother or pester.

"to annoy, irritate," 1949, probably from bug (n.) and a reference to insect pests. Sense of "equip with a concealed microphone" is from 1919. Related: Bugged; bugging.

"insect," 1620s (earliest reference is to bedbugs), of unknown origin, probably but not certainly from or influenced by Middle English bugge "something frightening, scarecrow" (late 14c.), a meaning obsolete since the "insect" sense arose except in bugbear (1570s) and bugaboo (q.v.).\n

\nProbably connected with Scottish bogill "goblin, bugbear," or obsolete Welsh bwg "ghost, goblin" (compare Welsh bwgwl "threat," earlier "fear," Middle Irish bocanách "supernatural being"). Some speculate that these words are from a root meaning "goat" (see buck (n.1)) and represent originally a goat-like spectre. Compare also bogey (n.1) and German bögge, böggel-mann "goblin." Perhaps influenced in meaning by Old English -budda used in compounds for "beetle" (compare Low German budde "louse, grub," Middle Low German buddech "thick, swollen"). \n\nIn the United States bug is not confined, as in England, to the domestic pest, but is applied to all insects of the Coleoptera order, which includes what in this country are generally called beetles.

[Farmer & Henley, "Dictionary of Slang and Colloquial English," 1912 abridged edition]

"to bulge, protrude," 1872, originally of eyes, perhaps from a humorous or dialect mispronunciation of bulge (v.). Related: Bugged; bugging. As an adjective, bug-eyed recorded from 1872; so commonly used of space creatures in mid-20c. science fiction that the initialism (acronym) BEM for bug-eyed monster was current by 1953.

"to scram, skedaddle," 1953, of uncertain origin, perhaps related to bug (v.2), and compare bug off.

n. 1 the Bug river, flowing northwest 450 mile between Belarus and Poland. 2 the Bug river in the Ukraine, flowing 530 mile to the Dnieper estuary.

1. v. annoy persistently; "The children teased the boy because of his stammer" [syn: tease, badger, pester, beleaguer]

2. tap a telephone or telegraph wire to get information; "The FBI was tapping the phone line of the suspected spy"; "Is this hotel room bugged?" [syn: wiretap, tap, intercept]

3. [also: bugging, bugged]

1. n. general term for any insect or similar creeping or crawling invertebrate

2. a fault or defect in a system or machine [syn: glitch]

3. a small hidden microphone; for listening secretly

4. insects with sucking mouthparts and forewings thickened and leathery at the base; usually show incomplete metamorphosis [syn: hemipterous insect, hemipteran, hemipteron]

5. a minute life form (especially a disease-causing bacterium); the term is not in technical use [syn: microbe, germ]

6. [also: bugging, bugged]

Bug may refer to:

Bug is the third album by American alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr., released in October 1988 through SST Records.

It was the last Dinosaur Jr. album with original bassist Lou Barlow until Beyond in 2007.

The album is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Beats per Minute ranked it the 41st best album of the 1980s.

A bug in poker is a limited form of wild card. One or both jokers are often added to the deck and played as bugs.

In draw poker played for high and pai gow poker, the bug is considered to be an ace, unless it can be used as a missing card to complete a straight or a flush, in which case it becomes the highest card which can complete the hand.

• K-K-Joker-5-2 is a pair of kings with an ace kicker.
• A-A-Joker-9-4 is three aces.
• A♥ J♥ 8♥ 3♥ Joker is a flush, ace-king high, the bug becoming the K♥, even if another player holds the "real" K♥.
• 7-6-5-4-Joker is an eight-high straight, the bug becoming an eight rather than a three since both complete the straight but the eight is higher.
• J♣ 10♣ 8♣ 7♣ Joker is a straight flush, jack high, the bug becoming the 9♣.

In California lowball, the bug is the lowest unpaired card in a hand. For example in 8-6-4-3 plus the bug, the bug becomes an ace; in A-2-3-5 plus the bug, the bug becomes a four.

Holding the bug greatly increases the power of certain drawing hands. For example, playing for high, a natural four-straight such as Q-J-10-9 drawing one has nine outs to complete the hand, any king or eight or the bug. By contrast a four-straight including the bug can have as many as sixteen outs to complete the straight - Q-J-10-Joker can catch any ace, king, nine, or eight.

The Bugs are an extraterrestrial race in the novel Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein, its film adaptation (and its first and second sequels, an animated film, a Japanese OVA and loose spin-off television series), sometimes also referred to as the Arachnids, although the aliens are not related to Earth arachnids.

The Bugs in the film differ considerably from those in the novel, which calls the Bugs "Pseudo-Arachnids". The Bugs in the book are an industrial society that builds starships; the film Bugs have no technology, only specialized castes including "plasma Bugs" that can fire burning fireballs into orbit. Meanwhile, Mongoose Publishing's Starship Troopers: The Miniatures Game refers to them as the Arachnid Empire or the Bug Empire. In the third film in the franchise, the bugs are referred to as "Archie", similar to nicknames given to Germans ("Jerry") and the Viet Cong ("Charlie") in their respective wars. The novel's Bugs are highly susceptible to radiation and chemical attacks, and the Mobile Infantry frequently seals their escape holes.

Bug is a solo album by Dave Davies (best known as lead guitarist and co-founder of British rock band The Kinks), released in May 2002. It was his fourth true solo studio album, almost 20 years after the release of his third effort Chosen People.

Bug is a 2006 American-German independent psychological horror film directed by William Friedkin. It stars Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, and Harry Connick Jr. The screenplay by Tracy Letts is based on his 1996 play of the same name in which a woman holed up in a rural Oklahoma motel becomes involved with a paranoid man obsessed with conspiracy theories about insects and the government. The film debuted at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival before being purchased by Lionsgate, who released the film the following year in May 2007.

Friedkin and Letts similarly collaborated on the 2011 film Killer Joe.

Bug is a 1975 American horror film in Panavision, directed by Jeannot Szwarc and written by William Castle and Thomas Page, from Page's 1973 novel The Hephaestus Plague. It was the last film Castle was involved in before his death. The film starred Bradford Dillman, Joanna Miles and Richard Gilliland.

Bug is a play by American playwright Tracy Letts. It was adapted into a film in 2006, with Letts writing the screenplay and Michael Shannon reprising his role as Peter.

Bug is a 2002 American comedy film, directed by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. It was released on February 28, 2002.

"Bug" is the ninth episode of the fourth season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 42nd overall episode of the series. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on September 11, 2011.

The Bug is the name both of the westernmost tongue of land (Landzunge) on the peninsula of Wittow on the German island of Rügen, as well as the name of the former village there. The Bug begins south of the village of Dranske and belongs territorially to that municipality.

Bug is the original soundtrack album, on the Lionsgate label, of the 2006 film Bug, and contains such artists as Sean & Sara Watkins (of Nickel Creek), Chainsaw Kittens, Susan Tedeschi, Jerry Leiber, Leon Russell and more. The theme from Bug is performed by System of a Down lead singer Serj Tankian. The lead track is performed by Stone Temple Pilots lead singer Scott Weiland.

The original score is composed by Brian Tyler. The score was released on iTunes on May 22, 2007. The soundtrack by various artists, was released in stores and on iTunes on May 22.

Bug is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Bug was originally a member of the Micronauts and later joined the second incarnation of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

When he first appeared in Micronauts #1 (dated January 1979), Bug was known as Galactic Warrior, taking this name from a figure from the Micronauts toy line on which the comic book series was based. The toy based characters were all owned by Takara Co., Ltd., with any original characters owned by Marvel. Starting with the fourth issue Galactic Warrior's name was changed to Bug. This was done after Marvel realized that since the character's design looked nothing like the toy, they could assume ownership if they used a different name.

BUG is a Croatian monthly computer and information technology magazine, established in 1992. Published by the BUG publishing company, it is currently the most popular computer magazine in the country. It focuses primarily on PC hardware and software technology. The magazine also includes sections for video games, news, columnist writing ( John C. Dvorak is a regular contributor), a helpdesk, and self-assembly.

Other magazines published by the same company are Mreža for professionals and Enter for beginners.