I know it’s my question, and as such I should withold my opinion in this particular forum, but the OED/Dr. Suess explanation is wholly unsatisfactory to me. Dr. Suess makes such liberal use of nonsense words that attributing the modern-use of ‘nerd’ to a character not even remotely representing a dork/brain is similar to bragging about hitting a bullseye with a shotgun. This may be the first published combination of those letters, but so much of Dr. Suess isn’t even English, it’s gibberish for English speakers. I’m actually surprised the OED would reference material that is 50% English at best.
Happy Days was where I first heard it as well. This is where we need Cecil to step in and check with the scriptwriters to see where they came up with the term. Because as I recall it is firmly embedded in the Happy Days story line.
It is curious that this discussion has linked Dr. Seuss with the word “nerd”. On nerdcore rapper MC Frontalot’s debut CD, Nerdcore Rising, the title cut features guest vocals provided by fellow nerdcore rapper MC Stephen Hawking:
Nerd: when you say it you best say it with awe
cause I’m the type of nerd that will bust your jaw.
A nerdcore player, I’ve paid my dues,
got lowered suspension and chromed out shoes.
Hear ye hear ye, in case you ain’t heard,
20-aught-5 be the year of the nerd.
Nerdcore’s gonna be crazy large,
and we the N.I.C. bitch, the Nerds In Charge.
We bust more rhymes than Theodor Geisel did,
got more game than a 2600.
For punk MCs who playa-hate,
we got one word: EXTERMINATE!
Just a matter of time before we’re household names,
so you best suck up now before fortune and fame,
put our asses out of reach of your quivering lips,
as we ride to the top on a nerdcore tip.
Great…now when I read Green Eggs and Ham to my kid I’m going to hear it as a rap…
And that website is wonder-bar!
*As “Geek” entered the discussion, so to does this geek. *
An early literary reference to the word ‘Geek’.
In the short story “the Year of the Jackpot” published in Galaxy Science Fiction, March 1952 by Robert A. Heinlein
"The poor geek! "
This was in reference to a an Astronomer that wrote an article about the Stability of G-type stars and was believe dead, killed in the craziness that was occurring.
It appears to be a use of geek in keeping with the intellectual Science/math/Rocket Scientist meaning.
Jim