# "Good morning Mr. Freeman.  Looks like you're in the barrel today."  Half Life Q.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-mr-freeman-looks-like-youre-in-the-barrel-today-half-life-q/232303>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [March 3, 2004, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-mr-freeman-looks-like-youre-in-the-barrel-today-half-life-q/232303 "2004-03-03T14:20:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2004, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-mr-freeman-looks-like-youre-in-the-barrel-today-half-life-q/232303/1 "2004-03-03T14:20:18Z")

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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?

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**Author:** ![elf6c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@elf6c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elf6c)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2004, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-mr-freeman-looks-like-youre-in-the-barrel-today-half-life-q/232303/2 "2004-03-03T14:29:03Z")

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> [@Chastain86](#):
>
> 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.

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**Author:** ![G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G.B.H.Hornswoggler)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2004, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-mr-freeman-looks-like-youre-in-the-barrel-today-half-life-q/232303/3 "2004-03-03T15:24:11Z")

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> [@Chastain86](#):
>
> 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 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](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.

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**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2004, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-mr-freeman-looks-like-youre-in-the-barrel-today-half-life-q/232303/4 "2004-03-03T15:43:07Z")

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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.