# kluge

> English word · Noun · IPA /kluːd͡ʒ/ · frequency rank #90,628

## Definitions
1. Something that should not work, but does.
2. A device assembled from components intended for disparate purposes.

## Etymology
From US military slang, possibly from German klug (“clever”), or perhaps from Dutch Low Saxon klütje (“(little) dumpling, clod”), Jutland Danish klyt (“piece of bad workmanship, klud(g)e”); compare standard Danish kludder (“mess, disorder”). (Compare English klutz.)
According to the OED, an "invented word" influenced by bodge and fudge.
Compare kludge.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/kluge