List of references (Engineer)

Due to the comedic style of Team Fortress 2 and Valve's humor, the game includes references, usually in a humorous fashion. There are many sources, including games, movies, and music; even jokes that have developed within the game and its community have been included. Below are references specific to the Engineer, most of which play on Western or engineering themes.

Achievements

Battle Rustler Teleport 100 team members into battle.

This is a play on cattle rustler, a term used to refer to an individual who steals livestock.

Best Little Slaughterhouse in Texas Rack up 5000 kills with your sentry guns.

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is a 1978 Broadway production that has seen several iterations on both Broadway and the silver screen. The plot concerns the shutdown of a long-running Texas brothel after a crusading news reporter makes the illegal business a public issue.

A slaughterhouse is a place where massive amounts of animals, usually cows, are killed and processed for consumption, many of which are located in Texas.

Breaking Morant Kill 10 Snipers with a sentry gun under the control of your Wrangler.

Harry "Breaker" Morant was an Australian horseman, poet, and soldier who was convicted and later executed for war crimes he committed during guerrilla wars in South Africa.

Building Block Have a sentry shielded by the Wrangler absorb 500 damage without being destroyed.

Building blocks are popular children's toys. This is a reference to the fact that the Engineer builds items similarly to the way a child plays with building blocks. A building block is also a fundamental of an art or science and is often considered to be a key principle (i.e., a building block of playing Engineer is building and repairing machines). Block can also be a pun on the shield deployed around a Sentry when a Wrangler is activated.

Built to Last Help a single building tank over 2000 damage without being destroyed.

This is a phrase commonly used by manufacturing companies, who claim that their products are "built to last" for a long time.

Circle the Wagons Repair 50,000 damage to friendly buildings constructed by other players.

This is a reference to the practice of Wagon Trains in the American Old West forming a circle for defensive purposes when attacked by Native Americans. The tales of wagons being circled for this purpose are largely apocryphal. Wagon trains often circled their wagons at night to protect their supplies from predators and thieves, but rarely did so when under attack.

Death Metal Pick up 10,000 waste metal from pieces of destroyed buildings.

Death Metal is a distinctly vicious sub-genre of Heavy Metal music.

Deputized Get 10 assists with another Engineer where a sentry gun was involved in the kill.

In the United States, deputy sheriffs are county law enforcement officials, charged with performing all the duties prescribed to the county sheriff by a state's law. To be deputized can mean to be promoted to the rank of deputy sheriff (comparable to patrol officer or trooper). However, this achievement particularly references the posse comitatus commonly portrayed in Westerns, which is the common-law or statute law authority of a law officer to deputize (conscript) any able-bodied man to assist him.

Drugstore Cowboy Have dispensers you created dispense a combined amount of 100,000 health over your career.

Drugstore Cowboy was a 1989 film about a drug addict and his criminal actions.

The term Drugstore Cowboy is 1920s slang for a well-dressed man who loiters in public areas trying to pick up women.

Doc Holiday Have a dispenser heal three teammates at the same time.

John "Doc" Holliday was a dentist, gambler, and gunfighter of the "Old West", best known for his friendship with fellow gunslinger Wyatt Earp, and their subsequent gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

Doc, Stock, and Barrel Repair a sentry gun under fire while being healed by a Medic.

This is a reference to the phrase "Lock, stock, and barrel", usually used to mean "the whole thing", e.g., "I took it all — lock, stock, and barrel".

Fistful of Sappers Destroy 25 sappers on buildings built by other team members.

A Fistful of Dollars is a classic Clint Eastwood Western film, the first in the popular Dollars trilogy.

Frontier Justice Have your sentry kill the enemy that just killed you within 10 seconds.

Frontier Justice is a form of vigilantism, namely punishing those who evaded or were lightly treated by law and order, commonly in pioneering days when law enforcement was much slower and it was harder to verify exact crime details. The Frontier Justice is also one of the Engineer's unlockable weapons.

Get Along! Manage to get to, and then remove, a sapper placed on your building while you were several meters away.

The achievement name is a phrase commonly attributed to general Texans and cattle drivers. It's often said to the effect of either "Go away!" or "you have a path to walk, now go down it", such as instructions to go somewhere.

Honky Tonk Man Smash an enemy player's head in with your guitar.

This achievement refers to The Honky Tonk Man, a former wrestler for the WWE, with a guitar shot as one of his signature moves.

How the Pests Was Gunned Destroy 50 enemy stickybombs lying in range of friendly buildings.

Texas, the Engineer's home state, is often regarded as a frontier territory between the more densely populated eastern half of the United States and the more rural western half. The phrase "how the west was won" originally referred to the process by which the relatively sparse American West was pioneered and built up despite lack of infrastructure and seemingly antagonistic climates. In modern times, the phrase refers to the procedure by which something happens.

If You Build It, They Will Die Haul a level 3 sentry gun into a position that achieves a kill shortly after being redeployed.

This is a reference to a famous line from the fantasy film Field of Dreams: "If you build it, he will come".

Land Grab Help a teammate construct a building.

A land grab is an aggressive taking of land, usually with military force or by constructing a structure on a vacant plot.

No Man's Land Use a sentry gun to kill 25 enemy players that are capturing a point.

No Man's Land is a term for land that is not occupied or outright deserted due the high amounts of risks that make the land too dangerous for average soldiers to cross.

(Not So) Lonely Are the Brave Keep a Heavy healed with your dispenser while he gains five kills.

Lonely Are the Brave is a 1962 film starring Kirk Douglas as a wandering ranch hand who holds a distrust for modern society.

Patent Protection Destroy an enemy Engineer's sentry gun with a sentry under control of your Wrangler.

Patent protection is given to someone who proves that their invention satisfies certain criteria.

Pownd on the Range Kill 10 enemies outside the normal sentry gun range using the Wrangler.

The song Home on the Range is an American folk song arranged by Texan composer David Guion. The song is often used in popular culture in connection with the Old West and with cowboys.

Pownd or p0wn'd is an internet slang term for defeating an opponent in combat, similarly to 0wned.

Quick Draw Kill a Spy and two sappers within 10 seconds.

Quick Draw is a phrase commonly heard in western films. To be "quick on the draw" means that you can pull your gun out of its holster and fire very quickly.

Revengineering Use a revenge crit to kill the enemy player that destroyed your sentry gun.

A reference to the practice of reverse engineering, where a device is taken apart so that its internal structure can be analyzed.

The name is a portmanteau of "revenge" and "engineering".

Rio Grind Perform 50 repairs and/or reloads on a Sentry gun being Wrangled by another Engineer.

A reference to Rio Grande — the fourth longest river system in North America. This river flows from Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico and serves as the natural border between the U.S. state of Texas and Mexico.

Search Engine Kill 3 cloaked Spies with a sentry gun under control of your Wrangler.

A search engine is a website used to search the internet for certain web pages.

Silent Pardner Upgrade 50 buildings built by other team members.

A play on the term Silent Partner, spelled as it is pronounced in a Texan accent. A Silent Partner is an anonymous member of a business partnership.

Six-String Stinger Provide an enemy player with a freeze cam of your guitar playing skills.

Guitars are typically equipped with six strings.

Texas Ranger Haul buildings 1 km over your career.

The Texas Rangers are the second-oldest statewide law enforcement body in the USA.

Texas Two-Step Use your shotgun to finish off an enemy recently damaged by your sentry gun.

The Texas Two Step is a partner-based country dance that widely varies in style based on custom and location.

The Extinguished Gentleman Have dispensers you built extinguish 20 burning players.

This is possibly a reference to the Eddie Murphy comedy The Distinguished Gentleman.

The Wrench Connection Kill a disguised spy with your Wrench.

The French Connection was a scheme through which heroin was smuggled from Turkey to France and then to the United States, culminating in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when it provided the vast majority of the illicit heroin used in the United States. The scheme was immortalized in a 1971 Academy Award-winning film.

Trade Secrets Kill 20 players carrying the intelligence.

A trade secret is a formula, design, or compilation of information which is not generally known or reasonably ascertainable.

Uncivil Engineer Provide an enemy player with a freeze cam of you and the sentry that just killed them.

This is a play on civil engineering, a discipline of engineering that deals with construction of the physical and natural environment.

Unforgiven Kill 3 enemies with revenge crits without dying.

This is a reference to Clint Eastwood's Academy Award-winning Western film Unforgiven.

Weapons

Eureka Effect Being a tool that eliminates exertion by harnessing the electrical discharges of thunder-storms for the vigorous coercion of bolts, nuts, pipes and similar into their rightful places. May also be used to bludgeon.

The term eureka effect refers to any unexpected discovery, or the sudden realization of the solution to a problem.

Frontier Justice

Frontier Justice is a form of vigilantism, namely punishing those who evaded or were lightly treated by law and order.

Gunslinger

In 20th Century cinema or literature, a gunslinger is a name referring to men in the American Old West who had gained a reputation as being dangerous with a gun.

Lugermorph

The name "Lugermorph" is a portmanteau of "Luger P08", a German sidearm that the Lugermorph is based on, and "lagomorph", any member of the mammalian order made up of mostly rabbits and hares. Max (who uses this weapon in the Sam & Max series) claims to be a member of this group.

P.D.Q.

The unused weapon known as the P.D.Q. is an acronym for "Pretty Damn Quick", (alternatively "Pretty Darn Quick" or "Please Do Quickly"), sometimes appended to the end of an instruction or command to communicate urgency.

Rescue Ranger

The weapon's name is a reference to the 1989 cartoon Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers.

Short Circuit

A short circuit is a malfunction in an electrical circuit that allows current to travel on an unintended path or can refer to a person that possesses a quick temper.

Southern Hospitality

The name "Southern Hospitality" is derived from the same phrase describing the warm and welcoming American South - ironic considering the fact that the Southern Hospitality causes large amounts of bleeding.

Widowmaker

This futuristic shotgun is styled after the Widowmaker TX, a weapon available in Deus Ex: Human Revolution. TX is the United States Postal Code for Texas.

Wrangler

To wrangle is to professionally handle animals, often directing them to perform certain actions.

Cosmetic items

Antarctic Researcher

This item is modelled after the coat of helicopter pilot R.J. MacReady in the 1982 horror film The Thing.

Barnstormer Step into the headgear and facial hair of America's favorite aviator/filmmaker/toenail-and-Jarate collector with this hotshot aviator hat and rakish movie star mustache.

Barnstorming is a form of early commercial aviation in which pilots would land on farms and either pick up passengers or perform stunts in the air for spectators to come and watch.

Beep Boy

The Beep Boy's overall build and design are based on the Nintendo Game Boy, an incredibly influential and successful handheld video game console, while the contents of the screen are inspired by the side character BMO from the Cartoon Network series Adventure Time.

Brainiac Goggles Being prescription shooting goggles that endeavor to relieve the eye from the reflection off one's gun barrel whilst also correcting Diplopia, Strabismus, 'Nervous Vision', Early-Onset Old-Eye, and several other varieties of structural defect.

Brainiac Hairpiece Being a maths-enhancing hairpiece that endeavors to heighten the senses of any soul, be he a gentle-man of leisure deserving of such a thing, or a loathsome tiller of the earth of whom a beating would not go unwarranted.

The word "brainiac" originally derived from the name of a super-intelligent villain of Superman lore, has come to mean a very intelligent person. It is a portmanteau of "brain" and "maniac".

The Brundle Bundle

This item set is a reference to the film The Fly, based on a short story of the same name, in which a scientist named Seth Brundle accidentally merges his body with a housefly, turning himself into a monster.

The items within the set give the Engineer a likeness to the transformed Brundle in the film.

Buckaroo's Hat

Buckaroo is the Americanized form of vaquero, the Spanish word for "cowboy", and refers specifically to the Spanish and Mexican cowboys from the California region.

Builder's Blueprints Never bring a gun to a blueprint fight.

The description is a reference to the phrase "never bring a knife to a gun fight".

Buzz Killer

"Buzz Killer" is slang for a depressing person whose presence tends to consistently darken others' moods.

This hat is a reference to the film The Fly, based on a short story of the same name, in which a scientist accidentally merges his body with a housefly, turning himself into a monster.

Champ Stamp Show Chinese organized crime gangs who's boss by wearing their cool tattoos without actually participating in any of their totally illegal criminal conspiracies! Note: DO NOT actually show your new tattoo to ANYONE in a Chinese organized crime gang.

The name is a reference to the term "Tramp stamp", referring to a tattoo which a woman places on her lower back.

Clockwerk's Helm DOTA 2 International Championship Gamescom 2011

This item is similar to the face of Clockwerk, also known as Rattletrap, a hero in Dota 2.

Clue Hairdo

Sleuth Suit

These items are based on Detective Columbo from the show of the same name.

Googly Gazer Keep one eye on your enemy and the other one on everything else.

This item resembles the artificial eye worn by Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody in the last four Harry Potter books and movies.

Hetman's Headpiece Cossacks and war go together like gołąbki and wódka.

Gołąbki and wódka are Polish for cabbage dumplings and vodka, respectively.

Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander, after the monarch, in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita, a faction featured in Mount & Blade With Fire & Sword.

"Hetman" was also the highest military office, and head of state, in Ukraine's Cossack Hetmanate, also featured in Mount & Blade With Fire & Sword.

Hotrod Mock the sun with streaks of flame as the UV rays bounce harmlessly away from your eyeballs.

The name and flame design is a reference to American cars with large engines, also called hot rods, which stereotypically sport a fiery paintjob.

Industrial Festivizer

The name of this hat is a play on the term industrial fertilizer.

Itsy Bitsy Spyer Is that a miniature Spy in your pocket, or are you just happy to OH GOD STOP HITTING ME!

Itsy Bitsy Spider is a popular nursery rhyme.

The description is derived from a famous quotation by American actress Mae West, known for her double entendres.

Legend of Bugfoot

The legend of Bigfoot is a myth about a large ape-like humanoid that inhabits forests.

This item is a reference to the film The Fly, based on a short story of the same name, in which a scientist accidentally merges his body with a housefly, turning himself into a monster.

Ol' Geezer

"Geezer" is a derogatory term for someone that is elderly and sick, being derived from "grandparent" and "wheezer", a term for anyone that has has a hard time breathing.

"Old Geezer" is a brand of draft beer, with advertisements located in certain maps. Its mascot wears a hat similar to that of the Ol' Geezer.

Pencil Pusher Measure twice, cut once, shoot first.

Pencil Pusher is a slang term for an accountant.

The description is a reference to the phrase "Measure twice, cut once", an expression often used in carpentry.

Pip-Boy Using modern super-deluxe resolution graphics!

This device is modeled after the Pip-Boy produced by the fictional RobCo Industries in the Fallout series, specifically the Pip-Boy 3000 from Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas.

Plumber's Cap

The Plumber's cap is modeled after Nintendo's mascot, Mario. The hat features an "E" for Engineer instead of an "M" for Mario.

Professor's Peculiarity I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics. Bullet mechanics? Well now that's a different thing entirely.

The first line in the item description, "I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics", is a famous statement by physicist Richard Feynman.

Scotch Saver

This item is modelled after the beard of helicopter pilot R.J. MacReady in the 1982 horror film The Thing. The name is also a reference to the character's signature love of J&B Scotch.

Special Eyes

Special eyes is a pun of specialize. Engineers typically specialize in their careers, from the major disciplines (Mechanical, Electrical, Civil, etc.) to more specific specializations (combustion, acoustics, explosives, etc.).
The name of this item is a reference to a 1 800 Contacts commercial where a man states I have special eyes!

Stocking Stuffer

Traditionally, those who celebrate Christmas hang up festive stockings in hopes of receiving small gifts in them. These gifts are commonly called "stocking stuffers".

Teddy Roosebelt A cute, plushy pocket buddy. Aw, he even has his own hat!

This item's name comes from that of Theodore Roosevelt, nicknamed "Teddy", a former President of the United States and inspiration for the teddy bear.

Texas Slim's Dome Shine Sometimes you just need a little less hat.

This item's description is a nod towards one of the Engineer's voice responses when acquiring a kill with the Combat Mini-Sentry, "Sometimes you just need a little less gun", which itself is a homage to the line "Use more gun" from Meet the Engineer.

Wingstick

The Wingstick is featured in the trailers of RAGE; it is a boomerang-like weapon that can be thrown, with the cloth on one end serving as a handle.

Responses

Dominating a Pyro

• "Speak up next time, boy!"

• "Gotcha, mumbles."

• "You look a mite tongue-tied, son."

These lines are referring to the Pyro's inability to speak clearly due to their mask muffling their voice.

• "Sorry, ma'am."

This refers to Valve's ongoing joke of keeping the Pyro's gender ambiguous, primarily due to their suit completely obscuring their body.

Dominating a Demoman

• "Drunk on the battlefield ain't no way to be, son."

"Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son." is a well-known line from the 1978 comedy film National Lampoon's Animal House.

• "The hand is quicker than the eye!"

A phrase commonly associated with stage magicians and their ability to perform tricks faster than the viewer's eyes can register. Also a joke about Demoman's singular eye.

Dominating a Heavy

• "Nevermind the bullets; how much all these coffins costin' ya?"

This quotation is a reference to the $200 bullets that the Heavy loads into his minigun.

• "Gotcha, chuckwagon!"

A chuckwagon is a type of field kitchen covered wagon historically used for the storage and transportation of food and cooking equipment on the prairies of the United States and Canada.

• "Gotcha, pork drippings."

Dripping, also known usually as beef dripping or, more rarely, as pork dripping, is an animal fat produced from the fatty or otherwise unusable parts of cow or pig carcasses.

Dominating an Engineer

• "A real Texan woulda dodged that."

Stereotypically residents of Texas (most likely due to the state's former status as its own country) are fiercely patriotic for their state, and will often look down on those not considered "pure" Texans, mainly including people of foreign origin/descent or those who aren't as devoted to the same stereotypical Texan ideals.

• "You can always tell a Texan, but you can't tell 'em much."

"You can always tell a Texan (but you can’t tell him very much)” was the title of a 1955 book by Boyce House. The phrase refers to two prevalent Texan stereotypes, being extreme brashness and stubbornness.

• "You shoulda oughta brought more gun, son."

This line is referring to one of the Engineer's lines in the animated short "Meet the Engineer," being "...How am I going to stop some big mean mother hubbard from tearing me a structurally superfluous new behind? The answer...use a gun. And if that don't work.... use more gun."

Dominating a Sniper

• "I just rode you out on a rail, down under."

Riding the rail (also called being "run out of town on a rail") was a punishment most prevalent in the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries in which an offender was made to straddle a fence rail held on the shoulders of two or more bearers. The subject was then paraded around town or taken to the city limits and dumped by the roadside.

• "Down under? More like, six feet down under."

"Six feet under" is a phrase used synonymously with death, referring to the standard depth of a grave (6 feet).

"Down under" is a colloquialism used to refer to Australia and New Zealand due to how far south they are on the planet, they are "underneath" the majority of the world.

Other responses

• "Oh, good night, Irene!" - at the start of sudden death or after a revenge kill, also "Jeers" voice command

Goodnight, Irene or "Irene, Goodnight", is a 20th century American folk song. The lyrics tell how the singer lost his love through "rambling and gambling". He contemplates suicide in the famous line "Sometimes I take a great notion to jump in the river and drown". The final verse urges the listener to "go home to your wife and family". In addition to many recorded versions, it is also a favorite camp and fireside song.

• "Nice shooting, tex!" - "Nice Shot" voice command

This is a reference to the first Ghostbusters film. As the Ghostbusters are trying to trap Slimer while in the Sedgewick Hotel ballroom, Peter says this due to Egon's overenthusiasm with his proton pack.

• "Guess I got the Midas touch." - after a Golden Wrench kill

King Midas, the king of Pessinus, is a figure in Greek Mythology. He was known for his ability to turn anything he had touched into gold, commonly known as "The Midas Touch".

• "Get along there little doggies" - Under the effects of an ÜberCharge

Possibly a reference to 2 old folk songs known by the same name as well as 'Ride Around Little Doggies'.

Media

Bio

Favourite equation:

The Engineer's favorite equation is actually a part of the equation used to govern character lighting in-game.

His place of origin, Bee Cave, is a real city in Travis County, Texas, United States.

The Engineer's name is a tribute to the novel Conagher by Louis L'Amour, an author of whom Valve writers Erik Wolpaw and Jay Pinkerton are fans.

Meet the Engineer

The Engineer drinking "BLU Streak" beer in the Meet the Engineer video is likely a reference to the real life beer brand, Red Stripe, although it may also refer to the Blue Streak missile.

The song that the Engineer plays on his guitar during the video was not originally composed for Team Fortress 2, and is called "Someone Else's Song". It was originally written by American Country band Wilco for their album Being There.

"How am I going to stop some big, mean mother hubbard from tearing me a structurally superfluous new behind?"

Old Mother Hubbard is a nursery rhyme. Here, the Engineer uses the phrase "Mother Hubbard" as a euphemism for "motherfucker". "Tearing me a structurally superfluous new behind" refers to the cliché "tear you a new ass".

Engineer Update

The teaser page for the Engineer Update has two references to Team Fortress Classic: a sepia-tinted picture of the TFC classes, and a more recent looking picture of a young boy trying on goggles while the Classic Engineer pats his shoulder and looks on with pride.

Mecha Update

The poster for the update is a reference to the science fiction film Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla I, with the Engineer taking Godzilla's place and the Mecha-Engineer taking the place of Godzilla's mechanical counterpart.