在电脑和网络无处不在的现代社会，工作时间偶尔开小差看个电影啊，玩个小游戏啊之类的事情都是不可避免的。可要是正玩的起劲儿，老板却出现在不远处，这可怎么好呢？只见人家不慌不忙手指轻点下键盘，屏幕马上变成工作界面，难道那个键就是boss key？

A boss key is a special keyboard shortcut used in computer games or other programs to quickly hide the program and possibly display a special screen that appears to be a normal productivity program.

Boss key是电脑游戏中使用的一个特殊的快捷键，用来快速隐藏游戏界面并显示正常工作程序的一个特殊界面。

This was a fairly common feature in early computer games for personal computers, when most boss keys were used to show dummy DOS prompts. The use has faded somewhat as modern multitasking operating systems have evolved.

“老板键”在早期的电脑游戏中很常见，多数都是用来显示虚拟的DOS提示框。随着后来多任务操作系统的发展，“老板键”的使用也渐渐淡出。