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The orginal geek bit the heads off chickens

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My wife asked me what the word 'geek'
meant. I wanted to be sure I gave the proper definition, so
looked it up. One thing I didn't know was the origin of the word
'geek'.  I'm not sure how credible to following is, but thought I'd share with you this entry at dict.die.net:

"Originally, a `geek' was a carnival performer who bit the heads off
chickens. Before about 1990 usage of this term was rather negative.
Earlier versions of this lexicon defined a `computer geek' as one who
eats (computer) bugs for a living - an asocial, malodorous, pasty-faced
monomaniac with all the personality of a cheese grater."

Comments

  • Anonymous
    July 10, 2005
    wikipedia has an exhaustive definition as well:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geek
  • Anonymous
    July 10, 2005
    thanks Jason,

    I see this Wikipedia entry confirms the fowl play:

    "A person who swallows live animals, bugs, etc., as a form of entertainment at fairs etc. This often included biting the heads off of chickens."
  • Anonymous
    July 10, 2005
    I wonder if that makes Ozzy Osbourne a bigger geek than myself?
  • Anonymous
    July 10, 2005
    The comment has been removed
  • Anonymous
    July 11, 2005
    The comment has been removed
  • Anonymous
    June 09, 2009
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