The following seems reproducible here with CVS HEAD Slime and SBCL 0.8.11.20 build with threads, using :spawn communication style: 1. start emacs 2. M-x slime 3. Hangs while doing "Initial handshake..." 4. Interrupt with C-c C-c from inferior -> *slime-repl* appears and everything is fine after exit from the debugger vai abort or toplevel restarts. Cheers, -- Nikodemus "Not as clumsy or random as a C++ or Java. An elegant weapon for a more civilized time."