droid
 n.

    [from android, SF terminology for a humanoid robot of essentially
    biological (as opposed to mechanical/electronic) construction] A person
    (esp. a low-level bureaucrat or service-business employee) exhibiting most
    of the following characteristics: (a) naive trust in the wisdom of the
    parent organization or ?the system?; (b) a blind-faith propensity to
    believe obvious nonsense emitted by authority figures (or computers!); (c)
    a rule-governed mentality, one unwilling or unable to look beyond the
    ?letter of the law? in exceptional situations; (d) a paralyzing fear of
    official reprimand or worse if Procedures are not followed No Matter What;
    and (e) no interest in doing anything above or beyond the call of a very
    narrowly-interpreted duty, or in particular in fixing that which is broken;
    an ?It's not my job, man? attitude.

    Typical droid positions include supermarket checkout assistant and bank
    clerk; the syndrome is also endemic in low-level government employees. The
    implication is that the rules and official procedures constitute software
    that the droid is executing; problems arise when the software has not been
    properly debugged. The term droid mentality is also used to describe the
    mindset behind this behavior. Compare suit, marketroid; see -oid.

    In England there is equivalent mainstream slang; a ?jobsworth? is an
    obstructive, rule-following bureaucrat, often of the uniformed or suited
    variety. Named for the habit of denying a reasonable request by sucking his
    teeth and saying ?Oh no, guv, sorry I can't help you: that's more than my
    job's worth?.

droid

    (From "android") The robots of the Star Wars
   universe.  While androids look somewhat human-like, Star Wars'
   droids are typically fashioned in the likeness of their
   creators or in a utilitarian design that stresses function
   over appearance.  Droids are equipped with artificial
   intelligence, though some are naturally created smarter than
   others depending on the function they are designed to serve.

   "Droid" is a Lucasfilm Ltd. trademark.

   <starwars.com>.

   ["A Guide to the Star Wars Universe", Bill Slavicsek, 1994,
   Lucasfilm Ltd.]

   [Was George Lucas really the first to use the abbreviation (in
   1977)?]

   (2006-07-21)