Nerdy Words For Wordy Nerds

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. Tyrone Power portrayed Hollywood’s first geek in the 1947 film “Nightmare Alley” whose tagline declared “He was all things to all men ... but only one thing to all women!”. So low did Stanton Carlisle’s fortunes sink by the end of this film that he was forced to become a geek. What was the function of a “geek” in this film? Selling insurance Tax preparation Teaching college Biting the heads off live chickens

2. Here’s some food for thought (hint, hint). To which word pair is the word “seersucker” etymologically related? Milk and sugar Watching and slurping Dupe and prophet Aiding and divining

3. Before J.K. Rowling, there were muggles, although in a very different sense. For which of these terms was “muggle” in use in the 20th century? A magic wand A fishtail A “marijuana” joint A sweetheart

4. According to “Sports Illustrated” in 1962, what was a Harvard student if not a “preppie” or “jock”? A nerkle A wonk A clod A drip

5. What did the pun-loving etymologist call the anorak she wore while trainspotting? (Hint: Use your inuition.) Her finished fleece Her thick eskimono Her sticky Scott's cape Her rushing robe

6. Thought to have begun as a word for beard in Basque, one of the words below came to mean handsome and brave as it moved first into the Spanish language and then into French. But in France, something strange happened, and the word took on the very different meaning it came to have in English. In English, this mystery adjective is simply… Gorgeous Hairy Bizarre Courageous

7. Feeble dwarves are thought by some to have given rise to which slang term describing the socially inept? Answer: (One five-letter word starting with "D")

8. Which of the following terms could be best described as having been “coined” by a Brit to mean a fool? (Hint: Your answer needs to be right on the money!) Dork Clod Apeth Oaf

9. Which of the following are brilliant? Muppets They’re all dim. Clodpoles Schlepps

10. Some maintain that without Dr. Seuss there might be no word “nerd” and therefore no word nerds, for it seems that Seuss coined the term. In 1950, in the book “If I Ran the Zoo” Seuss penned his immortal line, “I'll sail to Ka-Troo And Bring Back an It-Kutch a Preep and a Proo A Nerkle a NERD and a Seersucker, too!” In what year did the word show up in the magazine "Newsweek"? 1954 1951 1960 1986