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pedrow | 3 years ago

"Bootstrap" from which we get "booting up" and "reboot" is another one[0]

[0]: https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=bootstrap

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stevage|3 years ago

Ah that one is only semi dead for me. Hadn't realised that bootstraps weren't the same as bootlaces though.

hunter2_|3 years ago

It's pretty not-dead for me, as there has been a recent trend to call out the notion of "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps" as a fantasy, in a similar vein as calling out the notion of being "self-made" as unlikely -- i.e., virtually everyone got where they are with some help, not by themselves.

Of course, the computer metaphor involves electronics that do, in fact, figure out how to start without external assistance, despite the human metaphor tending to be a myth!