Acme n.
The canonical supplier of bizarre, elaborate, and
non-functional gadgetry - where Rube Goldberg and Heath Robinson
(two cartoonists who specialized in elaborate contraptions) shop.
The name has been humorously expanded as A (or American) Company
Making Everything. (In fact, Acme was a real brand sold from
Sears Roebuck catalogs in the early 1900s.) Describing some X as
an "Acme X" either means "This is insanely great", or, more likely,
"This looks insanely great
on paper, but in practice it's really easy to shoot yourself in
the foot with it." Compare pistol.
This term, specially cherished by American hackers and
explained here for the benefit of our overseas brethren, comes
from the Warner Brothers' series of "Roadrunner" cartoons. In
these cartoons, the famished Wile E. Coyote was forever
attempting to catch up with, trap, and eat the Roadrunner. His
attempts usually involved one or more high-technology Rube
Goldberg devices - rocket jetpacks, catapults, magnetic traps,
high-powered slingshots, etc. These were usually delivered in
large cardboard boxes, labeled prominently with the Acme name.
These devices invariably malfunctioned in improbable and violent
ways.