core dump: n. [common Iron Age jargon, preserved by Unix] 1.
[techspeak] A copy of the contents of core, produced when a
process is aborted by certain kinds of internal error. 2. By
extension, used for humans passing out, vomiting, or registering
extreme shock. "He dumped core. All over the floor. What a mess."
"He heard about X and dumped core." 3. Occasionally used for a
human rambling on pointlessly at great length; esp. in apology:
"Sorry, I dumped core on you". 4. A recapitulation of knowledge
(compare bits, sense 1). Hence, spewing all one knows about a
topic (syn. brain dump), esp. in a lecture or answer to an exam
question. "Short, concise answers are better than core dumps" (from
the instructions to an exam at Columbia). See core.
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