I may try to put together some dynamic SQL to trundle through the dictionary and find the name assigned to the constraint - allowing me to drop and replace the constraint. I think I know how to do it in SQLServer but I'll have to do a little research on how Oracle stores the stuff in the data dictionary.

As for "behind the scenes", finding a web reference to the origin of a common phrase is somewhat difficult because it shows up in so many places (though I did stumble across [link|http://freaky_freya.tripod.com/Drunktionary/drunkcentral.html|The Drunktionary] as a result that may come in handy some time down the road).

My speculation would be that it is based on theatre and refers to events that occur off stage (not having computer generated special effects back in Elizabethean times, they had to use their imagination). I'd think that it's plural because all the scenes themselves are usually in place when the play starts - something like a canvas or a backdrop. So when the scene changes, usually what happens is the front curtain is lowere and one scene is rolled up to expose the next scene. Hence, the stage has multiple scenes in place, though the audience is only viewing one at a time.