bit bucket, n.
Pronunciation: Brit. /ˈbɪt ˌbʌkɪt/, U.S. /ˈbɪt ˌbəkət/
Etymology: < bit n.4 + bucket n.1
Perhaps after the name of a container for collecting chads (chad n.2) of discarded material in early punched card or tape computers. Compare:
2007 Wall St. Jrnl. 27 Mar. a16/3 ‘Bit bucket’ refers to the mysterious destination of lost or unintentionally deleted computer files. This probably comes from the days of mainframe computers that used card and paper-tape punches. Getronics's Mr. Misra recalls how small chips of discarded paper were put into what was called a bit bucket.
Computing. Chiefly humorous.
A notional location in which lost or discarded data is said to be collected.
1964 D. I. Cutler Introd. Computer Programming vi. 108 The lost bits fall into a container called a bit bucket. They are emptied periodically and the collected bits are used for confetti at weddings, parties, and other festive occasions.
1982 InfoWorld 17 May 36/1 If this happens, you will find that you have donated your data to the bit bucket in the sky.
1994 Network World 28 Nov. 30/3 Joe Kimmey wrote, ‘I've skipped your articles up to this point, but that won't happen again.’ While this would normally relegate his entry to the bit bucket, his concern for humanity made me reconsider.
2007 W. C. Preston Backup & Recovery ix. 255 What it actually does is read all the multiplexed backups and throw into the bit bucket all the bits it doesn't need.
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