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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread Page 4 of 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Re: geek #101837 04/28/03 08:28 PM Joined: Apr 2003 Posts: 67 A anchita journeyman anchita journeyman A Joined: Apr 2003 Posts: 67 Thanks etaoin, and all who have welcomed a 'stranger' like me, individually or on the behalf of the forum... I was pleasently surprised to receive the attention and welcome that I've been given, (and am sure others of my category are given too.) Great place to be in, and an encouraging, if rare, trend in the otherwise dog-eat-dog world... Thanks again :) Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: geek #101838 04/28/03 08:57 PM Joined: Jun 2002 Posts: 1,624 Utter Placebo, Planet Reebok Capfka Pooh-Bah Capfka Pooh-Bah Joined: Jun 2002 Posts: 1,624 Utter Placebo, Planet Reebok Chopped liver, headed out, stage left ... Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter geekinition #101839 04/28/03 08:57 PM Joined: Aug 2001 Posts: 10,852 Likes: 2 Worcester, MA W wofahulicodoc Carpal Tunnel wofahulicodoc Carpal Tunnel W Joined: Aug 2001 Posts: 10,852 Likes: 2 Worcester, MA Can anyone think of the term that I've forgotten? We generally applied it to those students who did not have any outstanding intellectual ability, but worked so hard in preparing for courses that they appeared to have more to work with mentally than they actually possessed in terms of original thinking. May I present one more offering: the person who works so hard that s/he gets much further than one would have thought based solely on apparent inherent ability: overachiever And that should be a compliment ! Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: paté #101840 04/29/03 01:15 AM Joined: Jun 2002 Posts: 7,210 Vermont Buffalo Shrdlu Carpal Tunnel Buffalo Shrdlu Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jun 2002 Posts: 7,210 Vermont Chopped liver I was still trying to figure out: Gnothi seaton... is that some of that funky Latin? formerly known as etaoin... Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Gnothi seaton #101841 04/29/03 01:32 AM Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 this too shall pass tsuwm Carpal Tunnel tsuwm Carpal Tunnel Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 this too shall pass know thyself (to be human and follow the god) -joe (medan agan) friday Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: 'medan agan' #101842 04/29/03 08:54 AM Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 1,692 UK D dxb Pooh-Bah dxb Pooh-Bah D Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 1,692 UK Taking up tsuwm's implied challenge, a bit of Googling on 'medan agan' shows this expression, like 'gnothi seaton', to be an inscription on the walls of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi (and probably other places). If I have understood correctly, although it is commonly taken to mean 'nothing in excess' it is probably closer to 'moderation in all things', or 'follow the median path', recognising the human (or Dionysian) need for celebration of all there is to enjoy but calling for balance, not obsession. How'd I do? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Implied Challenge? Ha! #101843 04/29/03 10:51 AM Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 2,661 Chicago musick Carpal Tunnel musick Carpal Tunnel Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 2,661 Chicago dxb - A classic case of overachievement... well done! Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: geek #101844 04/29/03 11:36 AM Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 1,055 Berlin B belligerentyouth old hand belligerentyouth old hand B Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 1,055 Berlin For the sake of completeness and just to confuse rav a little more, I might add that in England a common term for anyone who is highly involved in their hobby can be prefixed or suffixed with trainspotter. Trainspotting, i.e. the collecting of endless info on trains, is of course the archetypal nerd hobby, bar linguistics :-) So, for example, those who go to clubs and spend all night looking over the DJ's shoulder at the records played are called 'trainspotter clubbers' and someone who is obsessed with the Queen would be a 'Queen trainspotter'. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: geek #101845 04/29/03 12:14 PM Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 1,692 UK D dxb Pooh-Bah dxb Pooh-Bah D Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 1,692 UK a common term for anyone who is highly involved in their hobby To confuse still further, such people are also often termed 'Anaracks'. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: geeks in college #101846 04/29/03 12:19 PM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky Jackie Carpal Tunnel Jackie Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky Can anyone think of the term that I've forgotten? We generally applied it to those students who did not have any outstanding intellectual ability, but worked so hard in preparing for courses that they appeared to have more to work with mentally than they actually possessed in terms of original thinking. Old-fashioned, but I've read of that type of student being called a grind. I would say that Dr. Bill's Merriam-Webster's Dictionary offers the original definition of "a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usually includes biting the head off a live chicken or snake," and anchita's “a performer who engaged in bizarre acts, such as biting the head off a live chicken.” most definitely fit tsuwm's Originally, to be a "geek" was to have fallen so low as to be willing to do anything for a living, no matter how disgusting the task. Thanks, anchita, for that info. on circuses. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Page 4 of 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. 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