A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted, or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly technical, abstract, or relating to niche topics such as science fiction or fantasy, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Additionally, many so-called nerds are described as being shy, quirky, pedantic, and unattractive.
Otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, particularly in anime, manga, video games, or computers. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in Manga Burikko.
A slang is a vocabulary of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of particular in-groups in order to establish group identity, exclude outsiders, or both. The word itself came about in the 18th century and has been defined in multiple ways since its conception, with no single technical usage in linguistics.
A fan or fanatic, sometimes also termed an aficionado, stan or enthusiast, is a person who exhibits strong interest or admiration for something or somebody, such as a celebrity, a sport, a sports team, a genre, a politician, a book, a movie, a video game or an entertainer. Collectively, the fans of a particular object or person constitute its fanbase or fandom. They may show their enthusiasm in a variety of ways, such as by promoting the object of their interest, being members of a related fan club, holding or participating in fan conventions or writing fan mail. They may also engage in creative activities such as creating fanzines, writing fan fiction, making memes, drawing fan art, or developing fan games.
This is a list of British words not widely used in the United States. In Commonwealth of Nations, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, India, South Africa, and Australia, some of the British terms listed are used, although another usage is often preferred.
A knit cap, colloquially known as a beanie, is a piece of knitted headwear designed to provide warmth in cold weather. It usually has a simple tapered shape, although more elaborate variants exist. Historically made of wool, it is now often made of synthetic fibers.
In U.S. English slang, egghead is an epithet used to refer to intellectuals or people considered out-of-touch with ordinary people and lacking in realism, common sense, sexual interests, etc. on account of their intellectual interests. A similar, though not necessarily pejorative, British term is boffin. The term egghead reached its peak currency during the 1950s, when vice-presidential candidate Richard Nixon used it against Democratic Presidential nominee Adlai Stevenson. It was used by Bill Clinton advisor Paul Begala in the 2008 presidential campaign to describe Senator Barack Obama's supporters when he said, "Obama can't win with just the eggheads and African-Americans."
"Chav", also "charver", "scally" and "roadman" in parts of England, is a British term, usually used in a pejorative way. The term is used to describe an anti-social lower-class youth dressed in sportswear. Julie Burchill described the term as a form of "social racism". "Chavette" is a related term referring to female chavs, and the adjectives "chavvy", "chavvish", and "chavtastic" are used to describe things associated with chavs, such as fashion, slang, etc. In other countries like Ireland, "skanger" is used in a similar manner. In Ontario, the term is "hoodman", an equivalent of the term "roadman" used in England. In Newfoundland, "skeet" is used in a similar way, while in Australia, "eshay" or "adlay" is used.
Terms used to describe homosexuality have gone through many changes since the emergence of the first terms in the mid-19th century. In English, some terms in widespread use have been sodomite, Achillean, Sapphic, Uranian, homophile, lesbian, gay, effeminate, queer, homoaffective, and same-gender attracted. Some of these words are specific to women, some to men, and some can be used of either. Gay people may also be identified under the umbrella term LGBT.
In the United States and Canada, a jock is a stereotype of an athlete, or someone who is consumed by sports and sports culture, and does not take much interest in intellectual pursuits or other activities. It is generally applied mostly to high school and college athletics participants who form a distinct youth subculture. As a blanket term, jock can be considered synonymous with athlete. Jocks are usually presented as male practitioners of team sports such as American football, basketball, baseball, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, and ice hockey.
Akiba-kei or Akiba-chan (アキバちゃん) is a Japanese slang term for Akihabara style. Akihabara is a district in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It is a prominent gathering place for dedicated fans of anime, video games and idols.
Dag is an Australian and New Zealand slang term, also daggy (adjective). In Australia, it is often used as an affectionate insult for someone who is, or is perceived to be, unfashionable, lacking self-consciousness about their appearance and/or with poor social skills yet affable and amusing. It is also used to describe an amusing, quirky and likeable person who doesn't take themselves too seriously and is non-pejorative. The term was more widely used in the 1970s due to the popular New Zealand comedy of Fred Dagg. The term may be simply affectionate, such as when it was used to describe the recipes in the enduringly popular The Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book.
Redneck is a derogatory term mainly, but not exclusively, applied to white Americans perceived to be crass and unsophisticated, closely associated with rural whites of the Southern United States.
"Geek girl" is a 20th-century term, signifying a gendered subgenre within the modern geek subculture.
Chic Meets Geek is a red carpet event and conference hosted by Carol Tran. A non-profit beneficiary is highlighted at every Chic Meets Geek event and is themed around the speaker panelists' expertise, often ranging from fashion to science.
Rule 34 is an internet meme which claims that some form of pornography exists concerning every possible topic. The concept is commonly depicted as fan art of normally non-erotic subjects engaging in sexual activity. It can also include writings, animations, images, GIFs and any other form of media to which the internet provides opportunities for proliferation and redistribution.
Nerdist News is a Nerdist-branded pop culture newsletter launched in February 2012. It was founded and operated by Nerdist Industries' CEO, Peter Levin, and its CCO, Chris Hardwick. It was hosted by Jessica Chobot.
Lensless glasses are glasses that lack lenses. They are worn solely for aesthetic or fashion purposes, having no function in vision correction or eye protection. The frames are usually oversized, and commonly all black in color. They may be worn in conjunction with contact lenses.
"Brogrammer" or "tech bro" are slang terms for stereotypically masculine programmers. Brogrammer is a portmanteau of bro and programmer. It is often used pejoratively to describe toxic masculinity and sexism in the technology industry, but some programmers self-describe themselves as a brogrammer positively as a word for "sociable or outgoing programmer", and it also tends to represent a subculture within the greater tech industry. An example sometimes cited of targeted advertising toward "brogrammers" is an early Klout hiring advert posted at a Stanford University career fair as "Want to bro down and crush some code? Klout is hiring." The company later described it as a joke and as an unfortunate misstep.
In typical usage, retard is a pejorative term either for someone with an actual mental disability, or for someone who is considered stupid, slow to understand, or ineffective in some way as a comparison to stereotypical traits perceived in those with mental disabilities. The adjective retarded is used in the same way, for something very foolish or stupid. The word is sometimes censored and referred to as the euphemistic "r‑word" or "r‑slur".
