/ti:m T/ An unspecified but usually well-understood time,
often used in conjunction with a later time T+1. "We'll meet
on campus at time T or at Louie's at time T+1" means, in the
context of going out for dinner: "We can meet on campus and go
to Louie's, or we can meet at Louie's itself a bit later."
(Louie's was a Chinese restaurant in Palo Alto that was a
favourite with hackers.) Had the number 30 been used instead
of the number 1, it would have implied that the travel time
from campus to Louie's is 30 minutes; whatever time T is (and
that hasn't been decided on yet), you can meet half an hour
later at Louie's than you could on campus and end up eating at
the same time.
See also since time T equals minus infinity.
[Jargon File]
(1994-12-12)
Nearby terms:
time sink « time slice « times-or-divided-by « time T » Time to Live » time zone » TINC
