[FEATURE] Show a one-line dictionary definition next to the spinner verb
Status Open
Maintainer reply None cached
Activity 0 comments · opened Oct 6, 2026
Idea from Seth (Fame Labs, @majorrawdawg)
The problem
While Claude Code works, the spinner shows a rotating status word: "Cogitating", "Noodling", "Pondering", "Percolating"… Users notice them and enjoy them, but many are unusual words, and there's no way to find out what they mean without leaving the tool. During long waits the user just watches a word go by.
The proposal
Show a short, dictionary-style definition right after the spinner word, on the same line:
✻ Cogitating (v.) — to think deeply, usually while burning your token budget.
✻ Percolating (v.) — to filter slowly through; ideas, like coffee, take a minute.
✻ Noodling (v.) — to fiddle around with something idly until it works.
- Format:
<Verb> (part of speech) — <one-line definition>, under about 80 characters so it fits on one terminal line. - Tone: a real definition plus a light, on-brand twist (like the examples above), so it informs and entertains at once.
How it could work
- Ship a built-in list of definitions alongside the default spinner verbs.
- Extend the existing
spinnerVerbssetting so each entry can optionally carry a definition, e.g.{"verb": "Cogitating", "definition": "to think deeply…"}. Plain strings keep working exactly as today. - Add a setting to turn definitions off (e.g.
spinnerDefinitions: false) for anyone who prefers the short spinner. - If the line is too narrow (small terminal or IDE panel), drop the definition and show the word alone.
Why it's worth it
- Turns waiting time into something enjoyable: a word a day for every user, at no cost.
- Gives the product more personality.
- Works everywhere: in plain terminals and the VS Code extension, with no hovering needed. A tooltip, by contrast, doesn't work in a terminal.
Related
#71617 proposed a hover tooltip with the word's definition and was closed as stale with no response. This version shows the definition inline instead, which works in every environment Claude Code runs in.