Kludge vs. Kluge — What's the Difference?

A kludge or kluge () is a workaround or quick-and-dirty solution that is clumsy, inelegant, inefficient, difficult to extend and hard to maintain. This term is used in diverse fields such as computer science, aerospace engineering, Internet slang, evolutionary neuroscience, and government.

Kluge (English: , German: [ˈkluːɡə]) is a German-derived surname. In German, capitalizing, and adding a final -e to, the adjective klug (meaning "clever"), creates a noun meaning "clever one".

An ill-assorted collection of parts assembled to fulfil a particular purpose.

A system, especially a computer system, that is constituted of poorly matched elements or of elements originally intended for other applications.

Improvise or put together from an ill-assorted collection of parts

A clumsy or inelegant solution to a problem.

A system, especially a computer system, that is constituted of poorly matched elements or of elements originally intended for other applications.

Something that should not work, but does.

A clumsy or inelegant solution to a problem.

A device assembled from components intended for disparate purposes.

An improvised device, typically crudely constructed to test the validity of a principle before doing a finished design.

(informal) Any construction or practice, typically crude yet effective, designed to solve a problem temporarily or expediently.

An amalgamated mass of unrelated parts.

A badly written or makeshift piece of software; a hack.

(informal) To build or use a kludge.

A badly assembled collection of parts hastily assembled to serve some particular purpose (often used to refer to computing systems or software that has been badly put together)