[Ads-l] Antedating of "Geeky"

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Excellent work, Jesse. Nice point, Rich. Here is an slightly earlier
instance in 1966.

Date: March 21, 1966
Newspaper: The Commercial Appeal
Newspaper Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Article: They Step Easily Into Modern Dance
Author: K. W. Cook
Quote Page 21, Column 6
Database: Newspapers.com

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-commercial-appeal-geeky/202721475/

[Begin excerpt]
But of Mrs. Lusk, the 10th grader said, "She's great. She's graceful
and can do anything. I didn't like folk dancing, I thought it was kind
of geeky. This (modern dancing) is more fun and more creative."
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Wed, Jul 29, 2026 at 11:19 PM Jesse Sheidlower <jester at panix.com> wrote:
>
> Here's a 1967 example of _geeky_, from a book heavily cited by HDAS. The meaning here is unclear, although as Garson mentioned, OED's definition is so broad that it would likely cover it:
>
> 1967 P. Welles _Babyhip_ 14 The man, hollow-eyed, stared at her legs. His hair was dark, greased down with some ugly, geeky-looking ointment. Probably a gangster.
>
> https://archive.org/details/babyhip00well/page/14/mode/1up
>
> Jesse Sheidlower
>
> On Wed, Jul 29, 2026 at 11:01:47PM -0400, ADSGarson O'Toole wrote:
> > Nice work Fred and Ben. Here is an instance of the adjective geeky in 1972.
> >
> > Date: January 29, 1972
> > Newspaper: The State Journal-Register
> > Newspaper Location: Springfield, Illinois
> > Article: Allen's Alley
> > Author: Wayne
> > Quote Page 14B, Column 2
> > Database: Newspapers.com
> > https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-state-journal-register-geeky/202719970/
> >
> > [Begin excerpt]
> > Q. Who played the geeky vampire on "The Night Stalker"? He was too cool.--L.T.
> > A. Barry Atwater, (Cool, clear Atwater?).
> > [End excerpt]
> >
> > The combination of geeky and cool is a bit odd, but it might just mean
> > that the questioner likes geeks. The OED definition of geeky is quite
> > broad because it is based on geek which has many senses.
> >
> > [Begin OED excerpt]
> > geeky adjective
> > Characteristic of or designating a geek.
> > [End OED excerpt]
> >
> > The IMDB website has a webpage with images of Barry Atwater playing
> > the character Janos Skorzeny in The Night Stalker television movie. I
> > have not seen this TV movie.
> >
> > https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067490/characters/nm0041136/
> >
> > Garson
> >
> > On Wed, Jul 29, 2026 at 9:37 PM Ben Zimmer
> > <00001aae0710f4b7-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
> > >
> > > New York Times Book Review, Dec. 15, 1974, p. 4, col. 3 (ProQuest)
> > > [Review of Frank Brady's _Hefner_ by Philip Nobile]
> > > In the meantime, "Hefner" provides a not altogether uninformative account
> > > of how a geeky Chicago cartoonist, virgin until his 22nd year, quit his job
> > > as circulation director of Children's Activities, abandoned plans for a 3‐D
> > > nudie magazine and, with a borrowed $10,000 and a lot of nerve, pasted up a
> > > pretentious girlie by the name of Stag Party.
> > >
> > > https://www.nytimes.com/1974/12/15/archives/hefner-the-22yearold-virgin-who-made-up-for-lost-time.html
> > >
> > > On Wed, Jul 29, 2026 at 8:28 PM Shapiro, Fred <
> > > 00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
> > >
> > > > geeky (OED 1981)
> > > >
> > > > 1978 Los Angeles Times 18 July II. 7/5 (Newspapers.com)
> > > >
> > > > They usually see me as that shy kind of geeky guy.
> > > >
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
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> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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