humour (IBM) Middle management or HQ staff, or, by
extension, administrative drones in general. The term derives
from an old joke:
Two lions escape from the zoo and split up to increase their
chances. When they finally meet after two months, one is
skinny and the other overweight. The thin one says, "How did
you manage? I ate a human just once and they turned out a
small army to chase me with guns and nets, it was terrible.
Since then I've been reduced to eating mice, insects, even
grass." The fat one replies: "Well, *I* hid near an IBM
office and ate a manager every day. Nobody even noticed!"
(1994-12-01)