gremlin
/ˈgremlɪn/noun
1- informal an imaginary mischievous sprite regarded as responsible for an unexplained problem or fault, especially a mechanical or electronic one〈非正式〉（被认为导致出现原因不明的机械或电子等故障或差错的）小妖精：
a gremlin in my computer omitted a line.
我电脑里的小精灵将文档删掉了一行。
1.1
- such a problem or fault（原因不明的）故障, 差错。
词源
1940s: perhaps suggested by GOBLIN.