/frob'ni-kayt/ (Possibly from
frobnitz, and usually
abbreviated to
frob, but "frobnicate" is recognised 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".
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
also been reported.