What in the world does “in the barrel” mean in reference to this phrase? Barney speaks this line upon your entry into the Black Mesa Research Facility in the game “Half Life.”
Does it refer to the testing chamber he’s going to be working in?
I believe its the punchline to a well known dirty joke.
I don’t know the game, but that phrase most often refer to an off-color joke, told in various versions, about groups of men separated from female company for long periods of time.
I found a relatively clean version of the joke here: http://www.huumor.com/joke_4146. (Link is possibly not work-safe, depending on how prudish your work is – none of the major nasty words, but a synonym or two.)
In context, I assume the phrase means “you’re screwed” or something similar.
I always interpreted it as both; the research clean room would be called “the barrel” by knowing employees. The dual meaning is just the kind of joke that scientists love. At my office’s last reorganization, we were allowed to choose our three-letter office symbol. We chose “Space and Missiles” and abbreviated our three-letter “S&M” on most official memos.