rain dance

rain dance

Ceremonial dance performed to bring rain needed to water crops. Rain dances have been customary in many cultures, from the ancient Egyptians to the civilization of the Mayas and the people of the 20th-century Balkans. Rain dances often include dancing in a circle, the participation of young girls, decoration with green vegetation, nudity, the pouring of water, and whirling, meant to act as a wind charm. They may also include phallic and fertility rites.

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1.		rain dance - Any ceremonial action taken to correct a hardware problem, with the expectation that nothing will be accomplished. This especially applies to reseating printed circuit boards, reconnecting cables, etc. "I can't boot up the machine. We'll have to wait for Greg to do his rain dance."
2.		rain dance - Any arcane sequence of actions performed with computers or software in order to achieve some goal; the term is usually restricted to rituals that include both an incantation or two and physical activity or motion. Compare magic, voodoo programming, black art, cargo cult programming, wave a dead chicken.