slopsucker
/slop'suhk-r/ A lowest-priority task that only runs when the computer would otherwise be idle. Also called a "hungry puppy" or "bottom feeder" (after the fishermen's and naturalists' term for finny creatures who subsist on the primordial ooze).
One common variety of slopsucker hunts for large prime numbers.
Compare background.
[The Jargon File]
(2003-09-29)