From: Martin DeMello <martindemello@...>
Date: 2005-08-30T02:01:22+09:00
Subject: Re: how do you describe '#!' in written english?

Iain Dooley <idoo4002@mail.usyd.edu.au> wrote:
> 
> by the way, a 'BIKKURI' in english is an exclamation mark. exclamation 
> is like "MAJIDE!", so yeah, if you were to describe these two symbols 
> just in english, it would:
> 
> '#' = 'pound sign' in america, 'hash symbol' in britain or australia
> '!' = exclamation mark or exclamation point (exclamation is the noun of 
> the verb 'to exclaim')

And US hacker slang for the ! is "bang" ("pling" in the UK, though I think
"bang" has caught on there too), hence the "bang" in "shebang".

martin