eggheadn.

1907 O. Johnson in Sat. Evening Post 16 Nov. 9/1 His genius lived in the nicknames of the Egghead,..Morning Glory, [etc.].

c1918 C. Sandburg Let. (deposited in Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, Toledo, Ohio) Dear N. D...‘Egg heads’ is the slang here for editorial writers.

1952 Cleveland (Ohio) Plain Dealer 27 Sept. 10/3 A good many intelligent people..obviously admired Stevenson. ‘Sure,’ was the reply, ‘all the egg heads love Stevenson.’

1952 N.Y. Times 19 Oct. E1/7 Writers of letters to editors tend to be in the intellectual or ‘egg~head’ category where Stevenson sentiment is strong.

1953 R. Chandler Long Good-bye xlvii. 289 I told him I didn't think it would do Springer any harm. ‘Only with the eggheads.’

1954 Daily Tel. 23 Mar. Mr. Stevenson..said..‘Eggheads of the world, unite—you have nothing to lose but your yolks.’ ‘Eggheads’ is a derogatory description for intellectuals in America.

1955 Sci. Amer. Apr. 2/3 I fear that, while publicly unspoken, anti-intellectualism and suspicion of ‘eggheads’ may have been a factor.

1957 Listener 2 May 725/2 A former American ambassador to India and one of the Democratic Party's leading egg-heads.

1960 Listener 13 Oct. 627/1 This autumn six British firms are trying out one special kind of paper-back—the ‘egghead’ or quality or highbrow paper-back.

1965 Spectator 22 Jan. 98/1 Not all American egg-heads are equally self satisfied about the standard of their own criticism.

1963 Times 25 Feb. (Canada Suppl.) p. xiv/4 Often excessively eggheadish in their choice of material, these little dramatic islands have still proved [etc.].

1962 Punch 30 May 827/1 The theatre (alas for would-be eggheadery) is nowadays scarcely noticed at all.

1963 New Society 26 Sept. 4/1 There is a reaction against eggheadery in America.

1956 N.Y. Times Mag. 9 Sept. 68/3 People said it was ‘eggheadism’ or ‘moderation’.