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front end: n. 1. An intermediary computer that does set-up and filtering for
another (usually more powerful but less friendly) machine (a back end). 2. What you're talking to when you have a conversation with someone
who is making replies without paying attention. “Look at the dancing
elephants!” “Uh-huh.” “Do you know what I just
said?” “Sorry, you were talking to the front end.”
3. Software that provides an interface to another program
‘behind’ it, which may not be as user-friendly. Probably from
analogy with hardware front-ends (see sense 1) that interfaced with
mainframes.
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