field circus

A derogatory pun on "field service". The field service

organisation of any hardware manufacturer, but especially

DEC. There is an entire genre of jokes about DEC field

circus engineers:

Q: How can you recognise a DEC field circus engineer with a

flat tire?

A: He's changing one tire at a time to see which one is flat.

Q: How can you recognise a DEC field circus engineer who is

out of gas?

A: He's changing one tire at a time to see which one is flat.

See Easter egging for additional insight on these jokes.

There is also the "Field Circus Cheer" (from the plan file

for DEC on MIT-AI):

Maynard! Maynard!

Don't mess with us!

We're mean and we're tough!

If you get us confused

We'll screw up your stuff.

(DEC's service HQ is located in Maynard, Massachusetts).

[Jargon File]

(1994-12-01)