wedged

   1.  To  be  stuck,  incapable  of  proceeding  without  help. This is
   different  from  having  crashed.  If  the system has crashed, it has
   become totally non-functioning. If the system is wedged, it is trying
   to  do something but cannot make progress; it may be capable of doing
   a  few  things,  but not be fully operational. For example, a process
   may  become  wedged  if  it  {deadlock}s  with  another  (but not all
   instances  of  wedging are deadlocks). See also {gronk}, {locked up},
   {hosed}, {hung} (wedged is more severe than {hung}).

   2.  Often  refers  to  humans suffering misconceptions. "He's totally
   wedged -- he's convinced that he can levitate through meditation."

   3.  [Unix] Specifically used to describe the state of a TTY left in a
   losing  state  by  abort of a screen-oriented program or one that has
   messed with the line discipline in some obscure way.

   There  is  some  dispute  over the origin of this term. It is usually
   thought   to  derive  from  a  common  description  of  recto-cranial
   inversion;  however,  it  may  actually  have  originated  with older
   `hot-press'  printing technology in which physical type elements were
   locked  into  type frames with wedges driven in by mallets. Once this
   had  been  done, no changes in the typesetting for that page could be
   made.

[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {brick}{catatonic}{gas}{hang}{hung}{locked up}{off the trolley}{state}{sucking mud}{wedgie}{wedgitude}{wheel}]