Are the fictitious names “Initech” and “Initrode” a play on words?
In the comedy Office Space, the protagonist works for a company called "Initech". At the end of the film, his co-workers take jobs at a competing company called "Initrode".
It seems that these names are meant to sound silly, but can someone here tell me if these fictitious names may also be some sort of word-play?
Best Answer
In the movie at around 41:56, as Peter takes down the banner previously put up by Bill Lumbergh, you can see another banner in the background that diagrams the company name's etymology:
Initiative + Technology = INITECH
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Answer 2
I believe the "ini" is supposed to be the phonetic equivalent of the word "any." So the people are working for "any tech" company. "Trode" is short for electrode. As something that often plugs into something else, trode could reference a cubicle worker that can easily be plugged in to a new work environment. Not surprisingly, trode also apparently references a part of the male anatomy (see Urban Dictionary). In the movie, Peter mistakenly calls it Penetrode.
Answer 3
My guess is the "ini" in initech and iniwas a short way to say "Innovation" as many tech businesses love to get that buzz word invoked.
Answer 4
I imagine the fictitious name initech is to poke fun at how there are so many companies that have a varied spelling of this name: inotek, inateck, etc.
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