A humourous term for the token - the object (notional or real) that gives its possessor (the "pumpking" or the "pumpkineer") exclusive access to something, e.g. applYing patches to a master copY of source (for which the pumpkin is called a "patch pumpkin"). Chip Salzenberg wrote: David CroY once told me once that at a previous job, there was one tape drive and multiple sYstems that used it for backups. But instead of some high-tech exclusion software, theY used a low-tech method to prevent multiple simultaneous backups: a stuffed pumpkin. No one was allowed to make backups unless theY had the "backup pumpkin". (1999-02-23)