# In Office Space, TPS = ??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 2, 2002, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-office-space-tps/130533 "2002-10-02T14:38:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SandWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8491ac/32.png) [@SandWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandWriter)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-office-space-tps/130533/1 "2002-10-02T14:38:42Z")
Hey All, It finally came up that we don’t know what T.P.S. stands for, do you? I searched the web and found, This Place Sucks as one possible answer. Does anyone know? Or is it like the briefcase in Pulp Fiction… Thanks in advanced for your help, -Sandwriter p.s. If TLA’s are pissing you off, perhaps you would like to join AAAAAAAAAAAA A.K.A A^12 (An Association of Angry Americans Allied Against All Absurd And Annoying Acronym Abuse)? ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-office-space-tps/130533/2 "2002-10-02T16:57:58Z")
Context, please? I haven’t seen it. Was it in a computer-geeky context? Could be Transaction Processing System. Scarlett, exposing her geekitude ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-office-space-tps/130533/3 "2002-10-02T17:09:44Z")
I thought the letters were deliberately chosing to be meaningless. The whole point was that it was meaningless paperwork… ---
**Author:** ![SandWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8491ac/32.png) [@SandWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandWriter)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-office-space-tps/130533/4 "2002-10-02T17:13:23Z")
Hey Scarlett, Thanks for the response. Below is an example of the context… Lumberg: Hello Peter, What’s Happing? Ahhhh, We have sort of a problem here, yeah, you appearently didn’t put one of the new cover sheets on your TPS Reports? Peter: Oh Yeah, I’m Sorry about that, I, I forgot. Lumberg: Ummm, Yeah, you see we’re putting the cover sheets on all TPS reports now before they go out. Did you see the memo about this? Peter: Yeah, yeah, yeah I have the memo right here, I just, uh, forgot. But, uh, it’s not shipping out till tomorrow, so there’s no problem. Lumberg: Yeah, if you could just go ahead and make sure you do that from now on that would be great and, uh, I’ll go ahead and make sure you get another copy of that memo. Peter: I have the memo right here… The name of the place where Peter works is called Initrode, and they make bank software. Peter’s job is to update the software for the Y2K bug. Yeah, um, That’s just about all the, uh, context I can give you, but I’ll be sure to get you another copy of the memo. -Sandwriter ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-office-space-tps/130533/5 "2002-10-02T17:59:34Z")
I thought it was named Initech? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-office-space-tps/130533/6 "2002-10-02T19:25:12Z")
Indeed. Initrobe is where Michael Bolton and Samir go to work after Milton burns the building down. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-office-space-tps/130533/7 "2002-10-02T19:49:05Z")
I’ve heard that TPS was intended as an acronym for Total Pile of Shit. Was that on the DVD features? ---
**Author:** ![SandWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8491ac/32.png) [@SandWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandWriter)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-office-space-tps/130533/8 "2002-10-02T19:53:45Z")
Hey Dewey, You are correct, they worked at Initech, not Initrode. My bad. Hey Libertarian, That’s a good one! So far we have T.P.S. standing for… a) This Place Sucks b) Total Pile of Shit Anymore? ---
**Author:** ![im2evil4u](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5ac83/32.png) [@im2evil4u](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/im2evil4u)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-office-space-tps/130533/9 "2002-10-03T02:04:24Z")
Technical Processing Services ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-office-space-tps/130533/10 "2002-10-03T06:08:44Z")
Transactional Processing System ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-office-space-tps/130533/11 "2002-10-03T06:36:19Z")
I did some consulting for a plastics company and our job was to get their **TDS** reports online. It didn’t help that our manager at the job sounded JUST like Lumberg. He’d call us up and say “uh, yeaah…we need you to switch some things around” ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-office-space-tps/130533/12 "2002-10-03T06:43:53Z")
TPS: “Temporary Protected Status” which allows aliens of qualified countries to work in the US. TPS: “Third person shooter”: From the TWO COWS game glossary. From the American University of Sharjah; Intensive English Program: “Why does Peter put fish droppings on the Total Performance System (TPS) reports?” Unless the folks of the University got it right, the answer (I think) should be that Mike Judge just invented the acronym. I vote for the “Total Pile of Shit” meaning anyhow! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ladydisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@ladydisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladydisco)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-office-space-tps/130533/13 "2002-10-03T07:10:04Z")
Um, I’m just gonna have to go ahead and vote for ‘Total Pile of Shit’ too. have you seen my stapler? ---
**Author:** ![SandWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8491ac/32.png) [@SandWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandWriter)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-office-space-tps/130533/14 "2002-10-03T16:35:36Z")
I’m liking Mean Joe’s Transactional Processing System. A bank would be dealing with transactions, processing them automatically on a system. Weekly reports on the performance of the system would be neccessary to insure quality. So I’m voting for that as the ‘real’ meaning and I’m voting for “This Place Sucks” as the derogatory meaning. Total Pile of Shit sounds a little forced to me, as if someone came up with Shit for S, then figured out Pile of Shit, then pulled Total out of their ass to get a T word. i.e. Turds, Piss, and Sewage or Thought Process Stops… Thanks you all for your responses, -Sandwriter ---
**Author:** ![\_etalhea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/779978/32.png) [@\_etalhea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_etalhea)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-office-space-tps/130533/15 "2002-10-03T16:50:58Z")
How about “Testicular Positioning System”? ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-office-space-tps/130533/16 "2002-10-04T14:35:52Z")
Transcending Proletarian Subjugation …Swingline ---
**Author:** ![Grim\_Beaker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/46a35a/32.png) [@Grim\_Beaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grim_Beaker)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-office-space-tps/130533/17 "2002-10-04T23:23:15Z")
Teratoma Poking Stick ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2002, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-office-space-tps/130533/18 "2002-10-05T06:40:03Z")
Terracotta Pinking Shears ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2002, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-office-space-tps/130533/19 "2002-10-05T14:56:11Z")
My vote is that TPS is a meaningly acronymn. I _love_ this movie. On Sundays when I’m not feeling too keen on returning to the classroom the next day, I watch my _Office Space_ DVD and regain my appreciation for my job–and not having to spend my life in a cubicle. That, and I laugh my ass off. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-office-space-tps/130533/20 "2002-10-07T10:23:29Z")
IITYWYBAD?