Nerdy Words For Wordy Nerds Trivia Quiz

Answer: Biting the heads off live chickens

Some maintain that the word "geek" evolved from a German word "geck" in the 16th century to mean "a fool or dupe". However, "Yourdictionary.com" indicates that the first attested use of "geek" occurred in the mid 19th century. Although chicken head biting is listed as the first definition in the "Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary", the use of geek to denote "a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usually includes biting the head off a live chicken or snake" seems to have had a later origin.

The "Online Etymologic Dictionary" traces the head biting reference to the 1946 novel ""Nightmare Alley".

Answer: Milk and sugar

"Seersucker" comes from an Indian word compounded of two words arising from two languages - Persian and Sanskrit. In Hindi, the word has two meanings. Historically, "seersucker" came from a Hindi word for a cloth that was characterized by alternating stripes, one smooth and one rough - like milk and sugar.

The Hindi compound word for milk and sugar "srsakar" denoted both the cloth and the foodstuffs. "Food for thought" was intended to be a hint.

Answer: A "marijuana" joint

To an ancient Roman, a "mugil" was a swordfish, while to an 13th century Englishman it was merely the tail of a fish . The Italian wife "moglie" may have been the inspiration for calling an Englishman's sweetheart "muggle" in the 17th century. However, neither of these was in much if any use in the twentieth century. But, as late as the 1980s, a "muggle-head" was a smoker of marijuana. Muggle magic was a late development.

Answer: A wonk

In 1962, "Sports Illustrated" reported that Harvard students tended to divide themselves into three groups: preppies, jocks and wonks. However in 1954, "Time" magazine had indicated that Yale students already used the term "wonk". To maintain that these bright but disconnected men evolved into the "policy wonks" of more modern times is purely speculative.

The origin of "wonk" is uncertain. Numerous possibilities have been proposed, including a backwards spelling of "know", an acronym for Without Normal Knowledge or derivation from an earlier slang term such as "wanker" or "wonky". Perhaps the word wonks will ultimately shed light on this important etymologic issue.

Answer: Her thick eskimono

This question conclusively proves that a true geek quiz writer has no shame. The stereotypical trainspotter keeps a comfy, toasty watch bundled up in their anorak, a garment originating not with fleeced-up Finns, capering Scotsmen or warmly robed Russians, but with the Inuit of North America. (At this point, if you're kind-of-a word nerd, you're thinking about sending me an error report demanding that an "s" be placed at the end of "Inuit" in the preceding sentence.

But of course, the real word nerds among us already know that "inuit" is the plural form of the Inuit word "inuk" meaning "human being". And if you didn't realize that "inuition" was a deliberate misspelling and believe that "Inuit" is missing a "t", then you might even be in the wrong quiz.)

Answer: Bizarre

The origin of the word "bizarre" is, well, a bit bizarre. The strange story seems to have begun with the Basque language where the word "bizarra" meant beard. The Spanish and French must have found bearded men handsome and courageous since the words "bizarro" and "bizarre" respectively had those meanings in the two languages.

However in French, "bizarre" took on an odd meaning... that is to say, came to mean odd. After entering into the English language the word simply became bizarre. And of course the word "bizarro" now graces the English language as a word for a character in Superman comics and as the title for Don Pararo's newspaper comic strip.

Answer: Dweeb

Although both the online "Merriam-Webster Dictionary" and "Yourdictionary.com" say nothing of the origin of "dweeb", the OED online speculates that "dweeb" may have arisen from combining "dwarf" and the slang term "feeb". The definition given this word varies somewhat from dictionary to dictionary. Impaired intellect and social ineptitude seem to be common features.

Answer: Apeth

"Apeth" is generally seen as part of the phrase "daft apeth". "Apeth" was derived from "half penny" and can therefore be doubly considered to be a "coined word." Apparently the term is considered to be more affectionate than pejorative. Somewhat ironically, the "Urban Dictionary" informs us that apeth is "Northern (specifically Lancastrian)". According to the BBC, "plonker" is a roughly equivalent term more in use in the south of England.

Answer: They're all dim.

The sheer number of slang terms that have been developed to indicate intellectual impairment is truly impressive. Here is a partial listing from "Websters Online Dictionary": berk, birdbrain, bozo, chucklehead, chump, clod, clodpole, div, doughnut, dove, dummy, dunce, featherbrain, fool, half-wit, ignoramus, loon, muddlehead, mug, muggins, muppet, mut, nerd, nincompoop, nit, noddy, oaf, schlepp, silly, simp, simple, simpleton, and thicko.

Answer: 1951

The full story of the coinage of the word "nerd" may never be known. There is as yet no indication of the word being used before its appearance in "If I Ran the Zoo" in 1950. Yet, we know that by 1951 "Newsweek" magazine reported, "someone who once would be called a drip or a square is now, regrettably, a nerd." How, one wonders, could a word coined without a clear definition be spoken of as having a clear definition in "Newsweek" a year later? The nerds of the world may have to live in perpetual ignorance of the true and full story of the word that defines us... er that is, them.