Date: Sat, 5 Feb 1994 23:50:26 -0600 From: Charles F Juengling-2 Subject: Re: Sluff & Nimrod On Sat, 5 Feb 1994, Donald M. Lance wrote: > Jan Brunvand at U of Utah (Salt Lake City) tells me that his students are > currently using 'nimrod' as a synonym for nerd, wuss, dork, etc. They > didn't know the word has biblical connections or might have other meanings. > I'm not particularly collecting data on this item, but others might be (e.g., > Connie Eble) and would want to know of its use elsewhere. I remember using the word 'nimrod' back in the mid/late '70's for exactly that meaning. We also had another word-- polnerd. It must have been the first half of 'Polack' + nerd (that was at the time of all the "Polack" jokes.) I think the idea was that if you were a 'polnerd', you were twice as stupid as being just a 'nerd'. Does anyone else know this word? BTW, where does the word 'nerd' come from. Everyone knows it from Happy Days; did it originate there? > > Jan also tells me that in the public schools kids "sluff" school -- none of > that hooky stuff. And the school bulletins use this term in discussing > school policy. Known elsewhere? Widespread? (I don't keep > up with the modern world and don't know these modren terms.) When I was in school (in Oregon in the late '70's), the OTHER kids 'skipped' school. We did have the word 'sluff-off', but that meant something more like 'to be lazy, not do one's homework, or generally not try very hard' or 'to not do something.' "Did you do your homework?" "No, I sluffed it off." > > Brunvand is the urban legend specialist. Choking Doberman etc. DMLance