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).
[The Jargon File]
(1994-12-01)