Nathan Hale
n : a soldier of the American Revolution who was hanged as a spy
by the British; his last words were supposed to have been
`I only regret that I have but one life to give for my
country' (1755-1776) [syn: Hale]
WordNet (r) 2.0
Nathan Hale n. An asterisk (see also splat, {ASCII). Oh, you want
an etymology? Notionally, from "I regret that I have only one asterisk
for my country!", a misquote of the famous remark uttered by Nathan Hale
just before he was hanged. Hale was a (failed) spy for the rebels in the
American War of Independence.
Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001)
Nathan Hale
An asterisk ("*", see also splat, ASCII).
Notionally, from "I regret that I have only one asterisk for
my country!" ("life to give" -> "ass to risk" -> "asterisk"),
a misquote of the famous remark uttered by Nathan Hale just
before he was hanged. Hale was a (failed) spy for the rebels
in the American War of Independence.
[{Jargon File]
(1996-09-22)
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)
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