Cow orker

A fortuitous typo for co-worker[?], widely used in Usenet, with perhaps a hint that orking cows is illegal. This term was popularized by Scott Adams (the creator of Dilbert) but already appears in the January 1996 version of the scary devil monastery[?] FAQ. There are plausible reports that it was in use on Usenet as early as 1989.[1] (http://groups.google.com/groups?q=+%22cow+orker%22&selm=1042%40midgard.Midgard.MN.ORG) Compare hing[?], grilf[?], filk, newsfroup[?].

This article (or an earlier version of it) is from the Jargon file. Used by permission.