Wuss & others

[Anne Lambert]

Why "nurd" spelling for "nerd"?  And what's the origin of "nerd"/  In my time the
word was "pill" (1950s).
As for Q-Ball,  I note that in the SF TV program  "Sliders"  one of the main
characters is Quinn Mallory, often nicknamed "Q-Ball."

Bapopik at AOL.COM wrote:

> WUSS (continued)
>
>     An OCLC WorldCat search fails to show wuss/wussy until the 1980s.  This
> is yet another strong knock against a 1960s "wuss" origin.  Wuss/wussy wasn't
> the title of ANYTHING until the 1980s--not the name of a rock band, not the
> name of a rock song, not the name of a book, not the name of a poem, and not
> the name of a magazine article (PCI database search).
>     Personally, I had thought that actor John Belushi coined/popularized
> "wuss" in 1978.
>      A brief check of the National Lampoon turned up their famous 1977
> poster, "Are You a Nurd?"   The poster defined "nurd" and added:  "see:
> TWINK, WONK, PINK, TWIT, (greasy) GRIND, FLAMER, WIMP, WEENIE, DINK, CREEP,
> FLYER, GEEK, DIP, LEMUR, Q-BALL, SIMP, TWIRP, DRIP, WOMBAT, ZOOMER,
> SCREAMER."  Still no "wuss"!
>      ENGLISH THROUGH THE AGES (1998) by William Brohaugh has "wuss" under
> "Insults" and dates it to before 1885!  That's the wusst!!  The Making of
> America database has about 90 "wuss" hits (one example is Artemus Ward's
> "From Bad to Wuss" in 1861).
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---------------------------------------------
> GREEN MONSTER (continued)
>
> 12 July 1965, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, pg. 75--(Under the title "The Wailing
> Wall," four letters commented on the June 28 "The Great Wall" story.  Still
> no "green monster"--ed.)
> 16 October 1967, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, pg. 29, col. 3--...Lonborg said, "Now we
> get them back up in our Green Monster."
> 28 October 1967, SPORTING NEWS, pg. 7, col. 1--...a high fly that almost
> cleared the "Green Monster" in left field...  (col.2--ed.)  For Rico, at
> least, the wall in left field was not a "Green Monster," but a "Jolly Green
> Giant."
> 28 October 1967, SPORTING NEWS, pg. 14, col. 2--The 37-foot high "Green
> Monster" cutting across left field is no more astounding than the massive
> bleachers that rise to an irregular point in right-center field.
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---------------------------------------------
> MISC.
>
> BIG WHOOP (RHHDAS 1981)
> Harvard Lampoon, February 1977, pg. 15
>
> I JUST DIED! (probably "just died and went to heaven," RHHDAS to die 1983)
> Harvard Lampoon, February 1977. pg. 15
>
> GROSS CITY! (RHHDAS --city 1946, et al.)
> Harvard Lampoon, February 1977, pg. 15
>
> WICKED DECENT (CASSELL DOS wicked awesome 1990s)
> Harvard Lampoon, June 1977, pg. 6
>
> HOOTERS (RHHDAS 1975, then 1979)
> Harvard Lampoon, Summer 1978, pg. 19, "...the girls with big hooters."
>
> BIG ORANGE (RHHDAS Los Angeles 1982)
> Playboy, November 1980, "California C's" by Shel Silverstein, Pg. ?--Yeah,
> this town's a great big orange, son/ You can grab it hard and squeeze/ But
> you'll never get no juice/ Without some California C's.
>
> HOLLYWEIRD (RHHDAS 1979. then 1982)
> Playboy, June 1980, pg. 143.