s/

Etymology
This comes from the command  (substitute), originally in ed and also found in Perl, to replace one string with another. Although the command does not require slashes (other punctuation can be used as delimiters) in this informal use (i.e., outside of scripting) slashes are virtually universally used.

In the original command, a trailing  means that the change in strings should be effected every time the first string appears (not just the first time it appears); this   is often used in this informal verb also, as described in the usage note below.

Verb

 * 1)  Replace the following string with the one that appears after it.
 * I hate you, you idiot!
 * Erm, s/hate/love/ and s/idiot/lovable fellow/.

Usage notes

 * As in the example sentences, the string to be replaced and the string replacing it are surrounded by slashes, although sometimes the final slash is omitted. Often, the second string is followed by a  ; see etymology, above.

Usage notes
Chiefly used in place names, such as on signposts.