Nerd (1954)

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(OED)(revised December 2003)
nerd
slang (orig. U.S.). derogatory. [Origin uncertain and disputed (see below).
  Perh. < nerd, a fictional animal in the children's story If I ran the Zoo 
(1950) by ‘Dr. Seuss’, depicted as a small, unkempt, humanoid creature with a 
large head and a comically disapproving expression. Alternatively, sometimes 
explained as a euphemistic alteration of TURD n. (see e.g. D. L. Gold in 
Comments on Etymol. (1983) 12 27), although given the predominance of early 
spellings in -e-, this seems unlikely. The suggestion that the word is back-slang for 
DRUNK n. is also unsupported by the spellings, as is derivation from the name 
of Mortimer Snerd, a dummy used by the U.S. ventriloquist Edgar Bergen in the 
1930s (see e.g. J. E. Lighter Hist. Dict. Amer. Slang (1977) s.v. Nerd).]     
An insignificant, foolish, or socially inept person; a person who is boringly 
conventional or studious. Now also: spec. a person who pursues an 
unfashionable or highly technical interest with obsessive or exclusive dedication. 
 
  1951 Newsweek 8 Oct. 28 In Detroit, someone who once would be called a drip 
or a square is now, regrettably, a nerd. 1957 Sunday Mail (Glasgow) 10 Feb. 
11 Nerda square. 1971 Observer 23 May 36/3 Nerds are people who don't live 
meaningful lives. 1983 Truck & Bus Transportation July 129/1 When loose-brained 
nurds crack up the top arrangements of a man o' my calibre, I got no union t' 
thump them nurds with. 1993 Sci. Amer. Apr. 96/1 ‘Nerd’..is movie shorthand for 
scientists, engineers and assorted technical types who play chess, perhaps, 
or the violin. 2002 Chicago Tribune 20 Jan. IV. 7/1 Among Silicon Valley nerds, 
chip engineers..are the geekiest of all.
   
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   Another "nerd."
  
    
(WWW.NEWSPAPERARCHIVE.COM)
Frederick Post - 2/8/1954   
...it's stoned. And the same goes for the NERDS and oddballs who think is 
real cool for.....Sometimes one wonders where it will end. TEEN TALKS By VIVIAN 
BROWN AP Let's spin the.....boy is a cat. Cats who lack grey matter are NERDS 
or'oddballs. There's no better way to.....better get with it. Times are 
changing, and TEEN-aged slangsters are the first to let you..
Frederick, Maryland Monday, February 08, 1954  786 k    
Pg. 9, col. 5:
_TEEN TALKS_
   By VIVIAN BROWN
   AP Newsfeatures
(Same article as below--ed.)
  

Newport Daily News - 2/11/1954  
...it's stoned. And the same goes for the NERDS and oddballs who think 
"George" is real.....boy is a cat. Cats who lack grey matter are NERDS or oddballs. 
There's no better way to..
Newport, Rhode Island   Thursday, February 11, 1954  517 k        
_Lingo of Denver Teen-Agers Leaves_
_The Square Very Much In The Dark_
   _AP Newsfeatures_
Pg. 18, col. 1:
   And the same goes for the nerds and oddballs who think "George is real 
cool for "cool."
  
Pg. 18, col. 2::
   Cats who lack grey matter are nerds or oddballs.
   There's no better way to identify yourself as a nerd than be saying 
something is "George."  Cat, what you mean is "cool."