Bathtub Motor
A poorly engineered thing; particularly one that is over-complicated, with excess and unnecessary parts. The term comes from a Heinlein quote/novel.
"If one is building an electric motor, one uses only the parts needed to do so. You would not, for instance, add a bathtub simply because one was available."
"If one is building an electric motor, one uses only the parts needed to do so. You would not, for instance, add a bathtub simply because one was available."
"Why does this thing even have one of those?"
"It's a bathtub motor."
"It's a bathtub motor."