Usages of the word "hacky"

It's not all as bad as you say - hacking does not necessarily mean cheating, and I wouldn't go so far as saying hacky means awful. Usually a hack means you at least finished your task.

That being said, neither is good, really. The oxforddictionaries.com definition linked in the comment doesn't get it totally right. These definitions go a little further (you can skip the bit about MIT).

Another friend told me, "Programmers are sometimes proud of a hack (in the way that you're impressed by something MacGyver does with only chewing gum and nail clippers), but it has the connotation of being a temporary solution that is going to cost you in the long run. To summarize: the negative connotation is accurate."