Vulcan nerve pinch

Vulcan nerve pinch
 n.

   [from the old Star Trek TV series via Commodore Amiga hackers] The
   keyboard combination that forces a soft-boot or jump to ROM monitor
   (on machines that support such a feature). On Amigas this is
   <Ctrl>-<Left-Amiga>-<Right-Amiga>; on PC clones this is Ctrl-Alt-Del;
   on Suns, L1-A; on Macintoshes, it is <Cmd>-<Power switch> or
   <Cmd>-<Ctrl>-<Power>! On IRIX,
   <Left-Ctrl><Left-Shift><F12><Keypad-Slash>, which kills and restarts
   the X server, is sometimes called a vulcan nerve pinch. Also called
   {three-finger salute} and Vulcan death grip. At shops with a lot of
   Microsoft Windows machines, this is often called the Microsoft
   Maneuver because of the distressing frequency with which Microsoft's
   unreliable software requires it. Compare {quadruple bucky}.
    

Vulcan nerve pinch
three-finger salute

   <jargon> (Or "three-finger salute", Vulcan death grip; from
   the old "Star Trek" TV series via {Commodore} {Amiga}
   {hackers}) The keyboard combination that forces a {soft boot}
   or jump to {ROM monitor} (on machines that support such a
   feature).

   On an Amiga this is done with Ctrl/Right Amiga/Left Amiga; on
   {IBM PCs} and many {microcomputers} it is Ctrl/Alt/Del; on
   {Suns}, L1-A; on some {Macintoshes}, it is <Cmd>-<Power
   switch>!  Silicon Graphics users are obviously the most
   dextrous however, as these machines use the five-finger
   combination: Left Shift/Left Ctrl/Left Alt/Keypad Divide/F12.

   Compare {quadruple bucky}.

   [{Jargon File}]

   (2000-04-04)