1. [techspeak] A flag on some processors indicating an attempt to calculate a result too large for a register to hold.

2. More generally, an indication of any kind of capacity overload condition. “Well, the Ada description was baroque all right, but I could hack it OK until they got to the exception handling ... that set my overflow bit.”

3. The hypothetical bit that will be set if a hacker doesn't get to make a trip to the Room of Porcelain Fixtures: “I'd better process an internal interrupt before the overflow bit gets set.”

Crunchly and the overflow bit.

(The next cartoon in the Crunchly saga is 73-07-29. The previous one is 73-06-04.)