field circus

( n.)

   [a  derogatory pun on `field service'] The field service organization
   of  any  hardware  manufacturer,  but  originally  {DEC}. There is an
   entire genre of jokes about field circus engineers:

   Q: How can you recognize a 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 recognize a field circus engineer
      who is out of gas?
   A: He's changing one tire at a time to see which one is flat.
   Q: How can you tell it's your field circus engineer?
   A: The spare is flat, too.

   [See {Easter egging} for additional insight on these jokes.]

   There  is also the `Field Circus Cheer' (from the old {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,  still extant under the HP regime, is located in
   Maynard, Massachusetts.)

[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {casting the runes}{Easter egging}{field servoid}{scratch monkey}]