A tongue-in-cheek name for rust removal duty (ferrous oxide being the precursor to rust on steel objects), especially on Navy ships, playing on the vivid contrast between the tedious and highly unpleasant nature of the duty, involving the use of wire brushes and toxic chemicals often under a blazing sun, compared to the
delightful, carefree leisure tableau depicted by the three teen protagonists of the 1986
Matthew Broderick film "
Ferris Bueller's Day Off."