Etymology

spaghetti sort

Today it means: A linear-time algorithm for sorting a sequence of items, analogous to standing a number of strands of spaghetti of different lengths upright on a surface and noting the order in which they are encountered when lowering one's hand from above. Full definition →

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The story

Introduced by A. K. Dewdney in a Scientific American column.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.