The Nerd

The Nerd is a two-act comedy written by the American actor/playwright Larry Shue. Actors who have taken on the title role include acclaimed British comedian Rowan Atkinson. It was the top grossing American play in London's West End in 1986.

Plot

Set in Terre Haute, Indiana in late 1979, The Nerd presents the story of Willum Cubbert, an unassuming young architect, who is landlord to friends Tansy and Axel. Tansy is a smart, attractive woman, with a mutual (but unconsummated) attraction to Willum; she is determined to leave in order to pursue a career in television meteorology in Washington, D.C. Axel is a smart aleck drama critic who was once engaged, briefly, to Tansy. The three of them are good friends. Axel and Tansy are present when Willum, during a house party, becomes host to unexpected houseguest Rick Steadman, who had saved Willum's life in Vietnam.

Over the years, Willum and Rick had exchanged occasional letters and greeting cards, though they never met. Willum has promised Rick that he could come to him for help at any time. While Willum is hosting a dinner party for his client (Warnock Waldgrave, for whom he is designing a hotel), Rick shows up. His awkward manner and inappropriate behavior throw the occasion into shambles. Rick decides to move in, and Willum feels that he can't say no, even when Rick begins to destroy his professional relationship with Mr. Waldgrave. Eventually at his wit's end, Willum decides to take a chance on Axel's plan to get rid of Rick.

Nerd

Nerd (adjective: nerdy) is a descriptive term, often used pejoratively, indicating that a person is overly intellectual, obsessive, or lacking social skills. They may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, obscure, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly technical or relating to topics of fiction or fantasy, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Additionally, many nerds are described as being shy, quirky, and unattractive, and may have difficulty participating in, or even following, sports. Though originally derogatory, "Nerd" is a stereotypical term, but as with other pejoratives, it has been reclaimed and redefined by some as a term of pride and group identity.

Etymology

The first documented appearance of the word "nerd" is as the name of a creature in Dr. Seuss's book If I Ran the Zoo (1950), in which the narrator Gerald McGrew claims that he would collect "a Nerkle, a Nerd, and a Seersucker too" for his imaginary zoo. The slang meaning of the term dates to the next year, 1951, when Newsweek magazine reported on its popular use as a synonym for "drip" or "square" in Detroit, Michigan. By the early 1960s, usage of the term had spread throughout the United States, and even as far as Scotland. At some point, the word took on connotations of bookishness and social ineptitude.

Nerd (disambiguation)

Nerd is a term for a person who is intellectually knowledgeable or bright, but socially inept.

Nerd or nerds may also refer to:

In entertainment:

Other uses:

Navy eReader Device

Navy eReader Device, or NeRD, is an e-reader developed by the United States Navy's General Library Program for use aboard U.S. Navy submarines. Released in May 2014, it gives sailors accessibility to the Navy's library and various books while on a submarine, which has limited storage space for paper books and sailors are normally on a six-month deployment. Each submarine is assigned five NeRDs. The Navy has plans to release the device to the surface fleet, starting with the smaller ships.

The NeRD device:

Titles included

It is loaded with nearly 300 books in a wide variety of genres, some of the books are: