Some people swear that "nerds" and "geeks" are entirely different things. They say things like, "Geeks are into computers and nerds read a lot," as if this entirely made-up fact were common knowledge. Some people go as far as to say that "Nerd Rock" and "Geek Rock" are different things, which sort of makes my head hurt. So I decided to find out, philologically speaking, what the difference was. The following list shows the results of my study, which is not likely to be of any use to anyone considering that anyone who would compile or read such a list is not the sort of person who should criticize anyone else for being uncool:
Geek - Literally, a carny who performs odd feats such as biting the heads off of chickens. I suppose, then, that it would describe someone who is a freak, but not in a physical sense. Perhaps it implies having an unusual talent. I am reminded of a game show called "Beat the Geeks," in which contestants would match wits against people who were very knowledgable about a narrow segment of pop culture. Thus, they were not really particularly intelligent, they just exhibit a mastery of something peculiar.
Nerd - Nerd, like chortle, started its life as a nonsense word in a children's book. In the case of "nerd," it was one of the creatures in Dr. Seuss' "If I Ran the Zoo." It looked like this:
People who think that the current usage of the word comes from that book say that the literal meaning would be "a comically unpleasant creature." This sort of bothers me, because I have long found myself attracted to people who others would consider "nerds," and so I had this connotation in my mind of nerds being sexy, although now it seems that the word itself implies someone who is unattractive. Others claim that the word "nerd" meaning a square came from the word "drunk" backwards, because people who don't drink are nerds. If that's the case, though, then why do they spell it "nerd"? In all of the early instances of the word appearing in print, although it was sometimes spelled "nurd," it was NEVER spelled with a k. Also, there don't seem to be any instances of the word that predate "If I Ran the Zoo." Unfortunately, although it seems pretty unlikely to me that the word actually came from backwards drunk, we may never know the true origin of the word, as there are so many people who are funny-looking and don't drink, and they can most certainly be described as "nerds."
Square - Uninteresting and unstylish. It comes from the shape, which hipsters considered uncool, preferring trapezoids and heptagons.
Dork - Literally, a penis. I've heard people claim that it is the scientific term for a whale's penis, citing some e-mail that got passed around a lot a while ago. While it's possible that dork had become the technical term for a whale's penis because marine biologists preferred it to the unpleasant and unsettling term "whale penis," that isn't really the origin of the word. Really, any penis is a dork. I think it's interesting that "dork" and "dick" describe the same body part, but completely different kinds of people.
Wiener - Short for "Wienerwurst" ("sausage from Vienna"). Originally a food, it also describes a sort of dog, a body part, or a person that is shaped like the food.
Spaz - I was called this quite a bit as a child. Usually when I have been called a nerd or a dork, it has been affectionately, like the way black people might call each other "nigger" (or "nigga" - it's the same damn word), but "spaz" was always meant as an insult. The only other place I had heard it used was on "NewsRadio," describing the character Matthew, so I didn't know if it was very common or if it was just a regional thing. Either way, it was in the dictionary. It's short for "spastic" - used to describe an awkward or uncoordinated person. Fair enough.
Creep - Means pretty much what you'd think it does. It should be noted, though, that it's not someone who creeps, but someone who gives you the creeps. It's one of the few distinctions that actually still mean anything to me. You see, I have long since given up trying to be cooler than anyone else, and as someone who is known for having loud discussions about X-Men plotlines in public, I'm not really in any sort of position to call anyone else a "nerd" or "geek," but at least I can say that Live-Action Role-Playing really gives me the creeps.
Loser - I think I can trust you to figure out the origin of this one on your own. I only include it to point out that The American Heritage Dictionary has perhaps the most tactful way of explaining its meaning - "One that fails to win... consistently."
Shrinking violet - Roget's Thesaurus listed this as a synonym for "nerd." It has to be the cutest way of saying "dweeb" that I have ever heard.
Geek - Literally, a carny who performs odd feats such as biting the heads off of chickens. I suppose, then, that it would describe someone who is a freak, but not in a physical sense. Perhaps it implies having an unusual talent. I am reminded of a game show called "Beat the Geeks," in which contestants would match wits against people who were very knowledgable about a narrow segment of pop culture. Thus, they were not really particularly intelligent, they just exhibit a mastery of something peculiar.
Nerd - Nerd, like chortle, started its life as a nonsense word in a children's book. In the case of "nerd," it was one of the creatures in Dr. Seuss' "If I Ran the Zoo." It looked like this:
People who think that the current usage of the word comes from that book say that the literal meaning would be "a comically unpleasant creature." This sort of bothers me, because I have long found myself attracted to people who others would consider "nerds," and so I had this connotation in my mind of nerds being sexy, although now it seems that the word itself implies someone who is unattractive. Others claim that the word "nerd" meaning a square came from the word "drunk" backwards, because people who don't drink are nerds. If that's the case, though, then why do they spell it "nerd"? In all of the early instances of the word appearing in print, although it was sometimes spelled "nurd," it was NEVER spelled with a k. Also, there don't seem to be any instances of the word that predate "If I Ran the Zoo." Unfortunately, although it seems pretty unlikely to me that the word actually came from backwards drunk, we may never know the true origin of the word, as there are so many people who are funny-looking and don't drink, and they can most certainly be described as "nerds."
Square - Uninteresting and unstylish. It comes from the shape, which hipsters considered uncool, preferring trapezoids and heptagons.
Dork - Literally, a penis. I've heard people claim that it is the scientific term for a whale's penis, citing some e-mail that got passed around a lot a while ago. While it's possible that dork had become the technical term for a whale's penis because marine biologists preferred it to the unpleasant and unsettling term "whale penis," that isn't really the origin of the word. Really, any penis is a dork. I think it's interesting that "dork" and "dick" describe the same body part, but completely different kinds of people.
Wiener - Short for "Wienerwurst" ("sausage from Vienna"). Originally a food, it also describes a sort of dog, a body part, or a person that is shaped like the food.
Spaz - I was called this quite a bit as a child. Usually when I have been called a nerd or a dork, it has been affectionately, like the way black people might call each other "nigger" (or "nigga" - it's the same damn word), but "spaz" was always meant as an insult. The only other place I had heard it used was on "NewsRadio," describing the character Matthew, so I didn't know if it was very common or if it was just a regional thing. Either way, it was in the dictionary. It's short for "spastic" - used to describe an awkward or uncoordinated person. Fair enough.
Creep - Means pretty much what you'd think it does. It should be noted, though, that it's not someone who creeps, but someone who gives you the creeps. It's one of the few distinctions that actually still mean anything to me. You see, I have long since given up trying to be cooler than anyone else, and as someone who is known for having loud discussions about X-Men plotlines in public, I'm not really in any sort of position to call anyone else a "nerd" or "geek," but at least I can say that Live-Action Role-Playing really gives me the creeps.
Loser - I think I can trust you to figure out the origin of this one on your own. I only include it to point out that The American Heritage Dictionary has perhaps the most tactful way of explaining its meaning - "One that fails to win... consistently."
Shrinking violet - Roget's Thesaurus listed this as a synonym for "nerd." It has to be the cutest way of saying "dweeb" that I have ever heard.
VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
Work in a factory. I found the terms and labels that people give out tend to be the most colorful. When you're working on a bland, repetitive job you have more than enough time to come up with colorful insults!
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