origins of "kludge"

This is probably on-topic. I did it almost 20 years ago, and it relates to a classic computer peripheral. I was given a Commodore 2023 printer (GPIB interface) because the bottom pin of the printhead was broken. Not having a printer on my PET, I wanted to get it going, but no way could I afford a new printhead [1]. So I did a real kludge. I shorted the outputs of the bottom and next-to-bottom drivers together, disconnecting the coil for the broken pin, so that both drivers operated the next-to-bottom pin. The result was a strange-looking, but readable font, and it sure beat copying down listings from the screen by hand. [1] It's actually the same as an Epsom printhead -- TX70 (or is it TX80) I think. I was given a large box of Epsom spares at a radio rally (basically, I was buying all the ancient computer stuff, and the chap gave me this rather than carry it home) with a suitable head in it, but I've never bothered to replace it. More fun to keep the kludge, I guess. Other kludges would include using a 6B pencil to repair the key contacts in a TRS-80 M4 keyboard, using 2lb fishing line as the transfer corona guard in Canon CX and SX printers, the 4 AA cells in a holder to replace the expensive lithium battery in this PC/AT (no, they don't last as long, but they're a lot cheaper to replace and easier to get), and more that I'll remember later. -tony