nastygram
= N =
nature
Nathan Hale n.
An asterisk (see also splat,
ASCII). Oh, you want an etymology? Notionally, from "I
regret that I have only one asterisk for my country!", a misquote
of the famous remark uttered by Nathan Hale just before he was
hanged. Hale was a (failed) spy for the rebels in the American War
of Independence.
--The Jargon File version 4.3.1, ed. ESR, autonoded by rescdsk.