computer geek

Synonyms

computer nerd

geek

turbo nerd

(Or "turbo nerd", "turbo geek") One who eats (computer) bugs for a living. One who fulfils all the dreariest negative stereotypes about hackers: an asocial, malodourous, pasty-faced monomaniac with all the personality of a cheese grater. The term cannot be used by outsiders without implied insult to all hackers; compare black-on-black usage of "nigger". A computer geek may be either a fundamentally clueless individual or a proto-hacker in larval stage.

See also Alpha Geek, propeller head, clustergeeking, geek out, wannabee, terminal junkie, spod, weenie.

[Jargon File]