[Poss. derived from {frobnitz}, and usually abbreviated to {frob},
but frobnicate is recognized as the official full form.:] To
manipulate or adjust, to tweak. One frequently frobs bits or other
2-state devices. Thus: "Please frob the light switch" (that is, flip
it), but also "Stop frobbing that clasp; you'll break it". One also
sees the construction to frob a frob. See {tweak} and {twiddle}.
Usage: frob, twiddle, and tweak sometimes connote points along a
continuum. `Frob' connotes aimless manipulation; twiddle connotes
gross manipulation, often a coarse search for a proper setting; tweak
connotes fine-tuning. If someone is turning a knob on an
oscilloscope, then if he's carefully adjusting it, he is probably
tweaking it; if he is just turning it but looking at the screen, he
is probably twiddling it; but if he's just doing it because turning a
knob is fun, he's frobbing it. The variant frobnosticate has been
recently reported.
[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {frob}{tweak}{twiddle}]