[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

saga \sa"ga\ s=a"g.a, n.; pl. sagas -g.az. icel.,
   akin to e. saw a saying. see say, and cf. saw.
   a scandinavian legend, or heroic or mythic tradition, among
   the norsemen and kindred people; a northern european popular
   historical or religious tale of olden time.
   1913 webster

         and then the blue-eyed norseman told
         a saga of the days of old.               --longfellow.
   1913 webster
see also:
sagas say saw 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

sagum \sa"gum\, n.; pl. saga. l. sagum, sagus; cf. gr. ?. cf.
   say a kind of serge. rom. antiq.
   the military cloak of the roman soldiers.
   1913 webster
see also:
saga say 

[3] : WordNet (r) 2.0

saga
     n : a narrative telling the adventures of a hero or a family;
         originally 12th to 14th centuries a story of the
         families that settled iceland and their descendants but
         now any prose narrative that resembles such an account

[4] : Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001)

saga n. wpi a cuspy but bogus raving story about n random broken
   people.

   here is a classic example of the saga form, as told by guy l. steele:

  jon l. white login name jonl and i gls were office mates at mit
  for many years.  one april, we both flew from boston to california
  for a week on research business, to consult face-to-face with some
  people at stanford, particularly our mutual friend richard p.
  gabriel rpg; see gabriel.
  
  rpg picked us up at the san francisco airport and drove us back to
  palo alto going logical south on route 101, parallel to el
  camino bignum.  palo alto is adjacent to stanford university and
  about 40 miles south of san francisco.  we ate at the good earth,
  a `health food' restaurant, very popular, the sort whose
  milkshakes all contain honey and protein powder.  jonl ordered
  such a shake -- the waitress claimed the flavor of the day was
  "lalaberry".  i still have no idea what that might be, but it
  became a running joke.  it was the color of raspberry, and jonl
  said it tasted rather bitter.  i ate a better tostada there than i
  have ever had in a mexican restaurant.
  
  after this we went to the local uncle gaylord's old fashioned ice
  cream parlor.  they make ice cream fresh daily, in a variety of
  intriguing flavors.  it's a chain, and they have a slogan: "if you
  don't live near an uncle gaylord's -- move"  also, uncle gaylord
  a real person wages a constant battle to force big-name ice
  cream makers to print their ingredients on the package like air
  and plastic and other non-natural garbage.  jonl and i had first
  discovered uncle gaylord's the previous august, when we had flown
  to a computer-science conference in berkeley, california, the
  first time either of us had been on the west coast.  when not in
  the conference sessions, we had spent our time wandering the length
  of telegraph avenue, which like harvard square in cambridge was
  lined with picturesque street vendors and interesting little shops.
  on that street we discovered uncle gaylord's berkeley store.  the
  ice cream there was very good.  during that august visit jonl went
  absolutely bananas so to speak over one particular flavor, ginger
  honey.
  
  therefore, after eating at the good earth -- indeed, after every
  lunch and dinner and before bed during our april visit -- a trip
  to uncle gaylord's the one in palo alto was mandatory.  we had
  arrived on a wednesday, and by thursday evening we had been there
  at least four times.  each time, jonl would get ginger honey ice
  cream, and proclaim to all bystanders that "ginger was the spice
  that drove the europeans mad  that's why they sought a route to
  the east  they used it to preserve their otherwise off-taste
  meat."  after the third or fourth repetition rpg and i were
  getting a little tired of this spiel, and began to paraphrase him:
  "wow  ginger  the spice that makes rotten meat taste good"
  "say  why don't we find some dog that's been run over and sat in
  the sun for a week and put some _ginger_ on it for dinner?"
  "right  with a lalaberry shake"  and so on.  this failed to faze
  jonl; he took it in good humor, as long as we kept returning to
  uncle gaylord's.  he loves ginger honey ice cream.
  
  now rpg and his then-wife kbt kathy tracy were putting us up
  putting up with us? in their home for our visit, so to thank them
  jonl and i took them out to a nice french restaurant of their
  choosing.  i unadventurously chose the filet mignon, and kbt had
  je ne sais quoi du jour, but rpg and jonl had lapin rabbit.
  waitress: "oui, we have fresh rabbit, fresh today."  rpg: "well,
  jonl, i guess we won't need any _ginger_"
  
  we finished the meal late, about 11 p.m., which is 2 a.m boston
  time, so jonl and i were rather droopy.  but it wasn't yet
  midnight.  off to uncle gaylord's
  
  now the french restaurant was in redwood city, north of palo alto.
  in leaving redwood city, we somehow got onto route 101 going north
  instead of south.  jonl and i wouldn't have known the difference
  had rpg not mentioned it.  we still knew very little of the local
  geography.  i did figure out, however, that we were headed in the
  direction of berkeley, and half-jokingly suggested that we continue
  north and go to uncle gaylord's in berkeley.
  
  rpg said "fine" and we drove on for a while and talked.  i was
  drowsy, and jonl actually dropped off to sleep for 5 minutes.  when
  he awoke, rpg said, "gee, jonl, you must have slept all the way
  over the bridge", referring to the one spanning san francisco
  bay.  just then we came to a sign that said "university avenue".
  i mumbled something about working our way over to telegraph avenue;
  rpg said "right" and maneuvered some more.  eventually we pulled
  up in front of an uncle gaylord's.
  
  now, i hadn't really been paying attention because i was so sleepy,
  and i didn't really understand what was happening until rpg let me
  in on it a few moments later, but i was just alert enough to notice
  that we had somehow come to the palo alto uncle gaylord's after
  all.
  
  jonl noticed the resemblance to the palo alto store, but hadn't
  caught on.  the place is lit with red and yellow lights at night,
  and looks much different from the way it does in daylight.  he
  said, "this isn't the uncle gaylord's i went to in berkeley  it
  looked like a barn  but this place looks _just like_ the one back
  in palo alto"
  
  rpg deadpanned, "well, this is the one _i_ always come to when i'm
  in berkeley.  they've got two in san francisco, too.  remember,
  they're a chain."
  
  jonl accepted this bit of wisdom.  and he was not totally ignorant
  -- he knew perfectly well that university avenue was in berkeley,
  not far from telegraph avenue.  what he didn't know was that there
  is a completely different university avenue in palo alto.
  
  jonl went up to the counter and asked for ginger honey.  the guy at
  the counter asked whether jonl would like to taste it first,
  evidently their standard procedure with that flavor, as not too
  many people like it.
  
  jonl said, "i'm sure i like it.  just give me a cone."  the guy
  behind the counter insisted that jonl try just a taste first.
  "some people think it tastes like soap."  jonl insisted, "look, i
  _love_ ginger.  i eat chinese food.  i eat raw ginger roots.  i
  already went through this hassle with the guy back in palo alto.
  i _know_ i like that flavor"
  
  at the words "back in palo alto" the guy behind the counter got a
  very strange look on his face, but said nothing.  kbt caught his
  eye and winked.  through my stupor i still hadn't quite grasped
  what was going on, and thought rpg was rolling on the floor
  laughing and clutching his stomach just because jonl had launched
  into his spiel "makes rotten meat a dish for princes" for the
  forty-third time.  at this point, rpg clued me in fully.
  
  rpg, kbt, and i retreated to a table, trying to stifle our
  chuckles.  jonl remained at the counter, talking about ice cream
  with the guy b.t.c., comparing uncle gaylord's to other ice cream
  shops and generally having a good old time.
  
  at length the g.b.t.c. said, "how's the ginger honey?"  jonl said,
  "fine  i wonder what exactly is in it?"  now uncle gaylord
  publishes all his recipes and even teaches classes on how to make
  his ice cream at home.  so the g.b.t.c. got out the recipe, and he
  and jonl pored over it for a while.  but the g.b.t.c. could
  contain his curiosity no longer, and asked again, "you really like
  that stuff, huh?"  jonl said, "yeah, i've been eating it
  constantly back in palo alto for the past two days.  in fact, i
  think this batch is about as good as the cones i got back in palo
  alto"
  
  g.b.t.c. looked him straight in the eye and said, "you're _in_
  palo alto"
  
  jonl turned slowly around, and saw the three of us collapse in a
  fit of giggles.  he clapped a hand to his forehead and exclaimed,
  "i've been hacked"
  
   my spies on the west coast inform me that there is a close relative
   of the raspberry found out there called an `ollalieberry' --esr

   ironic footnote: the meme about ginger vs. rotting meat is an urban
   legend. it's not borne out by an examination of medieval recipes or
   period purchase records for spices, and appears full-blown in the works
   of samuel pegge, a gourmand and notorious flake case who originated
   numerous food myths. the truth seems to be that ginger was used to cover
   not rot but the extreme salt taste of meat packed in brine, which was
   the best method available before refrigeration. --esr


see also:
gabriel logical el camino bignum meme 

[5] : The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)

saga
     
         wpi a cuspy but bogus raving story about n
        random broken people.
     
        here is a classic example of the saga form, as told by guy
        steele gls:
     
        jon l. white login name jonl and i gls were office mates
        at mit for many years.  one april, we both flew from boston
        to california for a week on research business, to consult
        face-to-face with some people at stanford, particularly our
        mutual friend richard gabriel rpg.
     
        rpg picked us up at the san francisco airport and drove us
        back to palo alto going logical south on route 101,
        parallel to el camino bignum.  palo alto is adjacent to
        stanford university and about 40 miles south of san francisco.
        we ate at the good earth, a "health food" restaurant, very
        popular, the sort whose milkshakes all contain honey and
        protein powder.  jonl ordered such a shake - the waitress
        claimed the flavour of the day was "lalaberry".  i still have
        no idea what that might be, but it became a running joke.  it
        was the colour of raspberry, and jonl said it tasted rather
        bitter.  i ate a better tostada there than i have ever had in
        a mexican restaurant.
     
        after this we went to the local uncle gaylord's old fashioned
        ice cream parlor.  they make ice cream fresh daily, in a
        variety of intriguing flavours.  it's a chain, and they have a
        slogan: "if you don't live near an uncle gaylord's - move"
        also, uncle gaylord a real person wages a constant battle to
        force big-name ice cream makers to print their ingredients on
        the package like air and plastic and other non-natural
        garbage.  jonl and i had first discovered uncle gaylord's the
        previous august, when we had flown to a computer-science
        conference in berkeley, california, the first time either of
        us had been on the west coast.  when not in the conference
        sessions, we had spent our time wandering the length of
        telegraph avenue, which like harvard square in cambridge was
        lined with picturesque street vendors and interesting little
        shops.  on that street we discovered uncle gaylord's berkeley
        store.  the ice cream there was very good.  during that august
        visit jonl went absolutely bananas so to speak over one
        particular flavour, ginger honey.
     
        therefore, after eating at the good earth - indeed, after
        every lunch and dinner and before bed during our april visit
        --- a trip to uncle gaylord's the one in palo alto was
        mandatory.  we had arrived on a wednesday, and by thursday
        evening we had been there at least four times.  each time,
        jonl would get ginger honey ice cream, and proclaim to all
        bystanders that "ginger was the spice that drove the europeans
        mad  that's why they sought a route to the east  they used
        it to preserve their otherwise off-taste meat."  after the
        third or fourth repetition rpg and i were getting a little
        tired of this spiel, and began to paraphrase him: "wow
        ginger  the spice that makes rotten meat taste good"  "say
        why don't we find some dog that's been run over and sat in the
        sun for a week and put some ginger on it for dinner?"
        "right  with a lalaberry shake"  and so on.  this failed to
        faze jonl; he took it in good humour, as long as we kept
        returning to uncle gaylord's.  he loves ginger honey ice
        cream.
     
        now rpg and his then-wife kbt kathy tracy were putting us up
        putting up with us? in their home for our visit, so to thank
        them jonl and i took them out to a nice french restaurant of
        their choosing.  i unadventurously chose the filet mignon, and
        kbt had je ne sais quoi du jour, but rpg and jonl had lapin
        rabbit.  waitress: "oui, we have fresh rabbit, fresh
        today."  rpg: "well, jonl, i guess we won't need any
        ginger"
     
        we finished the meal late, about 11 p.m., which is 2 a.m
        boston time, so jonl and i were rather droopy.  but it wasn't
        yet midnight.  off to uncle gaylord's
     
        now the french restaurant was in redwood city, north of palo
        alto.  in leaving redwood city, we somehow got onto route 101
        going north instead of south.  jonl and i wouldn't have known
        the difference had rpg not mentioned it.  we still knew very
        little of the local geography.  i did figure out, however,
        that we were headed in the direction of berkeley, and
        half-jokingly suggested that we continue north and go to uncle
        gaylord's in berkeley.
     
        rpg said "fine" and we drove on for a while and talked.  i
        was drowsy, and jonl actually dropped off to sleep for 5
        minutes.  when he awoke, rpg said, "gee, jonl, you must have
        slept all the way over the bridge", referring to the one
        spanning san francisco bay.  just then we came to a sign that
        said "university avenue".  i mumbled something about working
        our way over to telegraph avenue; rpg said "right" and
        maneuvered some more.  eventually we pulled up in front of an
        uncle gaylord's.
     
        now, i hadn't really been paying attention because i was so
        sleepy, and i didn't really understand what was happening
        until rpg let me in on it a few moments later, but i was just
        alert enough to notice that we had somehow come to the palo
        alto uncle gaylord's after all.
     
        jonl noticed the resemblance to the palo alto store, but
        hadn't caught on.  the place is lit with red and yellow
        lights at night, and looks much different from the way it does
        in daylight.  he said, "this isn't the uncle gaylord's i went
        to in berkeley  it looked like a barn  but this place looks
        just like the one back in palo alto"
     
        rpg deadpanned, "well, this is the one i always come to when
        i'm in berkeley.  they've got two in san francisco, too.
        remember, they're a chain."
     
        jonl accepted this bit of wisdom.  and he was not totally
        ignorant - he knew perfectly well that university avenue was
        in berkeley, not far from telegraph avenue.  what he didn't
        know was that there is a completely different university
        avenue in palo alto.
     
        jonl went up to the counter and asked for ginger honey.  the
        guy at the counter asked whether jonl would like to taste it
        first, evidently their standard procedure with that flavour,
        as not too many people like it.
     
        jonl said, "i'm sure i like it.  just give me a cone."  the
        guy behind the counter insisted that jonl try just a taste
        first.  "some people think it tastes like soap."  jonl
        insisted, "look, i love ginger.  i eat chinese food.  i eat
        raw ginger roots.  i already went through this hassle with the
        guy back in palo alto.  i know i like that flavour"
     
        at the words "back in palo alto" the guy behind the counter
        got a very strange look on his face, but said nothing.  kbt
        caught his eye and winked.  through my stupor i still hadn't
        quite grasped what was going on, and thought rpg was rolling
        on the floor laughing and clutching his stomach just because
        jonl had launched into his spiel "makes rotten meat a dish
        for princes" for the forty-third time.  at this point, rpg
        clued me in fully.
     
        rpg, kbt, and i retreated to a table, trying to stifle our
        chuckles.  jonl remained at the counter, talking about ice
        cream with the guy b.t.c., comparing uncle gaylord's to other
        ice cream shops and generally having a good old time.
     
        at length the g.b.t.c. said, "how's the ginger honey?"  jonl
        said, "fine  i wonder what exactly is in it?"  now uncle
        gaylord publishes all his recipes and even teaches classes on
        how to make his ice cream at home.  so the g.b.t.c. got out
        the recipe, and he and jonl pored over it for a while.  but
        the g.b.t.c. could contain his curiosity no longer, and asked
        again, "you really like that stuff, huh?"  jonl said, "yeah,
        i've been eating it constantly back in palo alto for the past
        two days.  in fact, i think this batch is about as good as the
        cones i got back in palo alto"
     
        g.b.t.c. looked him straight in the eye and said, "you're in
        palo alto"
     
        jonl turned slowly around, and saw the three of us collapse in
        a fit of giggles.  he clapped a hand to his forehead and
        exclaimed, "i've been hacked"
     
        my spies on the west coast inform me that there is a close
        relative of the raspberry found out there called an
        "ollalieberry" - esr
     
        ironic footnote: it appears that the meme about ginger vs.
        rotting meat may be an urban legend.  it's not borne out by an
        examination of mediaeval recipes or period purchase records
        for spices, and appears full-blown in the works of samuel
        pegge, a gourmand and notorious flake case who originated
        numerous food myths. - esr
     
        jargon file
     
        1994-12-08
     
     
see also:
cuspy random guy steele mit stanford richard gabriel 
palo alto logical el camino bignum berkeley meme 
jargon file 

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