I did similar, once. I had a script where I misquoted and ended up with a directory starting with ~ It was the only directory starting that way, so I typed "rm

I did similar, once. I had a script where I misquoted and ended up with a directory starting with ~ It was the only directory starting that way, so I typed "rm -rf ~<TAB><ENTER>" Hit control-C a half second later, but the damage was done. Fortunately most of my important files are backed up. Lesson: when deleting files with tricky names, write the command without flags first, then add "-rf" after the path is confirmed correct.