[from Greek akme highest point of perfection or achievement] The
canonical supplier of bizarre, elaborate, and non-functional gadgetry
-- where Rube Goldberg and Heath Robinson (two cartoonists who
specialized in elaborate contraptions) shop. The name has been
humorously expanded as A (or American) Company Making Everything. (In
fact, Acme was a real brand sold from Sears Roebuck catalogs in the
early 1900s.) Describing some X as an "Acme X" either means "This is
{insanely great}", or, more likely, "This looks {insanely great} on
paper, but in practice it's really easy to shoot yourself in the foot
with it." Compare {pistol}.
This term, specially cherished by American hackers and explained here
for the benefit of our overseas brethren, comes from the Warner
Brothers' series of "Road-runner" cartoons. In these cartoons, the
famished Wile E. Coyote was forever attempting to catch up with,
trap, and eat the Road-runner. His attempts usually involved one or
more high-technology Rube Goldberg devices -- rocket jetpacks,
catapults, magnetic traps, high-powered slingshots, etc. These were
usually delivered in large wooden crates labeled prominently with the
Acme name -- which, probably not by coincidence, was the trade name
of a peg bar system for superimposing animation cels used by
cartoonists since forever. Acme devices invariably malfunctioned in
improbable and violent ways.
[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {backronym}]