balloonian variable

balloonian variable
 n.

   [Commodore users; perh. a deliberate phonetic mangling of boolean
   variable?] Any variable that doesn't actually hold or control state,
   but must nevertheless be declared, checked, or set. A typical
   balloonian variable started out as a flag attached to some environment
   feature that either became obsolete or was planned but never
   implemented. Compatibility concerns (or politics attached to same) may
   require that such a flag be treated as though it were {live}.