runes 1. Anything that requires {heavy wizardry} or {black art} to {parse}: core dumps, {JCL} commands, {APL} or code in a language you haven't a clue how to read. Not quite as bad as {line noise}, but close. Compare {casting the runes}, {Great Runes}. 2. Special display characters (for example, the high-half graphics on an {IBM PC}). [{Jargon File}]