Re: [xml-dev] Call yourself a geek?

[Peter Flynn <peter@silmaril.ie>]

On 030 Nov 20192/04/2019 17:23, Stephen D Green wrote:
> Surprising you don’t tend to hear politicians called geeks.
Very rare.

  "I have always found Roosevelt an amusing fellow,
   but I would not employ him,
   except for reasons of personal friendship,
   as a geek in a common carnival."

   (Murray Kempton)

"Tory" was originally a term of abuse (Irish = "brigand").

Peter

> On Tuesday, 2 April 2019, Uche Ogbuji <uche@ogbuji.net> wrote:
>
>     Well yes "geek" and "nerd" were originally uncomplimentary terms.
>     Anyone who was actually called those words in their school
>     playgrounds knows that. The former was a comparison to circus geeks,
>     a common term for performers whose acts included seemingly gross or
>     foolish stunts such as hammering nails into their nostrils or eating
>     dangerous items.
>
>     It's very, very common for once uncomplimentary terms to transform
>     into neutral or positive descriptors. You could fill a book with
>     examples, and many have done.
>
>     --Uche
>
>
>     On Tue, Apr 2, 2019 at 3:30 AM Dave Pawson <dave.pawson@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>         Origin
>
>         Late 19th century: from the related English dialect word geck
>         ‘fool’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch gek ‘mad, silly’.
>
>         Live and learn.
>
>
>         -- 
>         Dave Pawson
>         XSLT XSL-FO FAQ.
>         Docbook FAQ.
>
>         _______________________________________________________________________
>
>         XML-DEV is a publicly archived, unmoderated list hosted by OASIS
>         to support XML implementation and development. To minimize
>         spam in the archives, you must subscribe before posting.
>
>         [Un]Subscribe/change address:
>         http://www.oasis-open.org/mlmanage/
>         <http://www.oasis-open.org/mlmanage/>
>         Or unsubscribe: xml-dev-unsubscribe@lists.xml.org
>         <mailto:xml-dev-unsubscribe@lists.xml.org>
>         subscribe: xml-dev-subscribe@lists.xml.org
>         <mailto:xml-dev-subscribe@lists.xml.org>
>         List archive: http://lists.xml.org/archives/xml-dev/
>         <http://lists.xml.org/archives/xml-dev/>
>         List Guidelines:
>         http://www.oasis-open.org/maillists/guidelines.php
>         <http://www.oasis-open.org/maillists/guidelines.php>
>
>
>
>     -- 
>     Uche Ogbuji http://uche.ogbuji.net <http://uche.ogbuji.net/>
>     Founding Partner, Zepheira http://zepheira.com <http://zepheira.com/>
>     Author, _Ndewo, Colorado_ http://uche.ogbuji.net/ndewo/
>     <http://uche.ogbuji.net/ndewo/>
>     Co-creator, co-host, Poetry Voice Podcast
>     http://poetryvoice.tumblr.com/ <http://poetryvoice.tumblr.com/>
>     http://uogbuji.tumblr.com/ http://www.linkedin.com/in/ucheogbuji
>     <http://www.linkedin.com/in/ucheogbuji> http://twitter.com/uogbuji
>
>
>
> --
> ----
> Stephen D Green