cycle crunch

cycle crunch

   <jargon> A situation wherein the number of people trying to
   use a computer simultaneously has reached the point where no
   one can get enough {cycles} because they are spread too thin
   and the system has probably begun to {thrash}.

   This scenario is an inevitable result of Parkinson's Law
   applied to {time-sharing}.  Usually the only solution is to
   buy more computer.  Happily, this has rapidly become easier
   since the mid-1980s, so much so that the very term "cycle
   crunch" now has a faintly archaic flavour; most hackers now
   use {workstations} or {personal computers} as opposed to
   traditional {time-sharing} systems.

   [{Jargon File}]

   (1994-11-29)