释义 |
▪ I. geek|giːk| [Var. geck n.1] U.S. slang. (See quots. 1954 and 1961).
[1876: see geck n.1] .1916Wells Fargo Messenger Oct. 29/2 A new Wells agent struck our town the other week, and say—you never saw a more enthusiastic geek! 1954Webster Add., Geek, a carnival ‘wild man’ whose act usually includes biting the head off a live chicken or snake. 1961Times Lit. Suppl. 27 Jan. 62/2 He picks up waitress, a simple girl, and enslaves a ‘geek’, a dumb sideshow stooge whose daily routine consists of being exhibited in a pit which he has to dig for himself.
▸ slang (chiefly U.S.). a. orig. Eng. regional (north.). A person, a fellow, esp. one who is regarded as foolish, offensive, worthless, etc.
1876F. K. Robinson Gloss. Words Whitby Gawk, Geek, Gowk or Gowky, a fool; a person uncultivated; a dupe. 1908H. C. Fisher in San Francisco Examiner 28 Apr. 13 (comic strip) A geek who spends his spare time making Czar removers was slammed into the city cooler. 1916Wells Fargo Messenger Oct. 29/2 A new Wells agent struck our town the other week, and say—you never saw a more enthusiastic geek! 1951N. Algren Chicago (2001) v. 59 The jungle hiders come softly forth: geeks and gargoyles, old blown winos, sour stewbums and grinning ginsoaks. 1971H. S. Thompson Let. 1 June in Fear & Loathing in Amer. (2000) 393 The Aspen zip code is 81611. These hamwit geeks go crazy when they get something addressed to two different postal areas. 1986C. Matheson & E. Solomon Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (film script) 86 Freud. (to the girls) Hi, I'm Sigmund Freud. The girls giggle some more. Freud. (stroking his goatee) You both seem to be suffering from a mild form of hysteria. Girl {hash}1. (to Freud) You geek. 2001C. Glazebrook Madolescents 173 The Elbow's heaving with bimboids and geeks who work in banks and stuff. b. Freq. depreciative. An overly diligent, unsociable student; any unsociable person obsessively devoted to a particular pursuit (usually specified in a preceding attrib. noun). Cf. nerd n.
1957J. Kerouac Let. 1 Oct. in Sel. Lett. 1957–69 (1999) 66 Unbelievable number of events almost impossible to remember, including..Brooklyn College wanted me to lecture to eager students and big geek questions to answer. 1980E. A. Folb Runnin' down some Lines 239 Geek, studious person. 1991S. J. Gould Bully for Brontosaurus vi. 96 Any kid with a passionate interest in science was a wonk, a square, a dweeb, a doofus, or a geek. 1992Sports Illustr. 14 Dec. 38/1 The article is a nine-page compilation of photos, diagrams and written arcana, which only a football geek could love. 2001Heat 17 Nov. 83/1 The acerbic Enid starts hanging out with the middle-aged record-collecting geek Seymour. c. spec. A person who is extremely devoted to and knowledgeable about computers or related technology. In this sense, esp. when as a self-designation, not necessarily depreciative.
1984Bye in net.jokes (Usenet newsgroup) 20 Feb. I was a lonely young computer geek With a program due 'most every week. 1989C. Stoll Cuckoo's Egg xlvi. 242 Why are you trying to catch some poor computer geek who's just fooling around? 1993R. Rucker et al. Mondo 2000 122/1 Geek is the proud, insider term for nerd. If you are not a dedicated techie, don't use this word. 2001Independent 4 June ii. 9/1 We're the nerds, the geeks, the dweebs: the men and women who can spend 20 hours straight contemplating 600 bytes of obscure, arcane, impenetrable computer code.
▸ geek chic n. a glamorization of the culture and appearance of geeks; the style associated with geeks.
1991Face Feb. 34/1 In the beginning was The Word, which in 1984 was not some sad pop programme but a cult rag called The End dedicated to the *geek chic of terrace culture and all its trappings. 1995Evening Sun (Baltimore) 29 Mar. d1/6 Most pretentious fake-beatnik sunglasses: Worn by geek-chic ‘Pulp Fiction’ director Quentin Tarantino. 2000N.Y. Times 3 Aug. g7/1 The crowd is young, the style is geek chic and the latest in computer gadgetry is on display. ▪ II. geek, v. orig. and chiefly U.S. slang. Brit. |giːk|, U.S. |gik| [‹ geek n.] 1. intr., and trans. with it. To give up, to back down; to lose one's nerve. Also with out.
1935A. J. Pollock Underworld Speaks 44/2 Geek it, to quit on a job; lose nerve. 1938D. Runyon Take it Easy 274, I put him with this punching bag, Joe Grosher, in Newark, and my guy geeks it the first good smack he gets. 1950San Francisco Examiner 26 June 31/8 It can't be said that Citation [sc. a racehorse] geeked it once Noor came out of the weeds. He accepted every issue and gave it his best. 1984J. Varley in S. Williams Hugo & Nebula Award Winners from Asimov's Sci. Fiction (1995) 200 The councilman might geek if they got him in front of a grand jury. 1986A. Greeley God Game (1987) xiv. 274 He was a physically strong man, capable on the record of decisive action, personal heroism and spectacular performance in bed. Why had he geeked out? 2. intr. To work as a geek in a circus or carnival (geek n. 2). Also trans. (of a geek): to bite the head off (an animal) during a performance.
1946W. L. Gresham Nightmare Alley 6 How do you ever get a guy to geek?.. I mean, is a guy born that way—liking to bite the heads off chickens? 1961G. Forbes Goodbye to Some 83 Sure mister, I'll geek, till something better comes along. 1970R. Davies Fifth Business (1977) vi. vii. 260 Not a nice life..but if it is the only way to keep yourself in morphia, you'd rather geek than have the horrors. 1989K. Dunn Geek Love i. i. 6 When she caught those ugly squawking hens you couldn't believe she'd actually do anything. When she went right ahead and geeked 'em that whole larruping crowd went bonzo wild. 3. trans. With up. To excite or stimulate (a person); to make (a person) nervous or jittery. Cf. geeked adj. 1.
1984Knoxville (Tennessee) Jrnl. 6 Oct. b2 It always used to geek me up when we were facing third-and-one or first-and-goal, and they would send me in to get it. 1992USA Today 12 May c3/4 He wanted to geek up his guy. He knows Jimmy knows his stuff, he just needs a chance to show it. What better time than in this situation, with everybody watching, with everything on the line. 1994Vibe Nov. 116/2 When I have the opportunity to combine the music with the words with the scenery behind it, it kinda geeks me up. 4. intr. With out. To behave like a geek; esp. (in Computing) to engage (esp. temporarily and inappropriately) in technical discussions, perform a technically complicated task, etc. Cf. geeked adj. 2.
1990Righting Words Spring 11/2 Geek out, to study hard. 1991E. S. Raymond New Hacker's Dict. 175 Geek out, to temporarily enter techno-nerd mode while in a non-hackish context... Especially used when you need to do something highly technical and don't have time to explain: ‘Pardon me while I geek out for a moment.’ 1995D. Coupland Microserfs (1996) i. 27 On the way back we read the Riot Act and said that Bug had to stop geeking out and learn to enculturate. 2000N.Y. Times 1 Aug. e5/4 Not to geek out on you..but back in 1986 a standard work station cost $65,000, plus $34,000 for the software... Now, you can get 10 times the power in a $7,000 computer. |