When using the term geek in reference to circus performers it is possible to be slightly more specific on the nature of the act. A geek was a performer who consumed unusual or unpleasant substances while on stage. Specifically the geek was often billed as a "wild man" who would bite the heads of chickens, consume broken glass, eat nails, etc. Their appeal of course lay in both providing an example of extreme behavior and in breaking social taboos regarding consumption.
Today this sort of act has, regrettably, fallen out of favor with most mainstream circuses touring the United States. In a continuing effort to provide family entertainment modern circuses, for the most part, employ mostly conventional acts involving trapeze work, trained animals, tumbling, and clowns. However some circuses still employ these sorts of older acts, including the Jim Rose circus. If you view the episode of the X-files that features performers from the Jim Rose circus you can see an example of a circus geek, in this case the gentleman with the blue puzzle pieces tattooed over his entire body.
Information in part provided by the Unix online Webster's dictionary and the Official Jim Rose circus webpage.
geek
n.
A person who has chosen concentration rather than conformity; one who pursues skill (especially technical skill) and imagination, not mainstream social acceptance. Geeks usually have a strong case of neophilia. Most geeks are adept with computers and treat hacker as a term of respect, but not all are hackers themselves - and some who are in fact hackers normally call themselves geeks anyway, because they (quite properly) regard `hacker' as a label that should be bestowed by others rather than self-assumed.
One description accurately if a little breathlessly enumerates "gamers, ravers, science fiction fans, punks, perverts, programmers, nerds, subgenii, and trekkies. These are people who did not go to their high school proms, and many would be offended by the suggestion that they should have even wanted to."
Originally, a `geek' was a carnival performer who bit the heads off chickens. Before about 1990 usage of this term was rather negative. Earlier versions of this lexicon defined a `computer geek' as one who eats (computer) bugs for a living - an asocial, malodorous, pasty-faced monomaniac with all the personality of a cheese grater. This is often still the way geeks are regarded by non-geeks, but as the mainstream culture becomes more dependent on technology and technical skill mainstream attitudes have tended to shift towards grudging respect. Correspondingly, there are now `geek pride' festivals (the implied reference to `gay pride' is not accidental).
See also propeller head, clustergeeking, geek out, wannabee, terminal junkie, spod, weenie, geek code.
--The Jargon File version 4.3.1, ed. ESR, autonoded by rescdsk.
Some say it originates from the circus. Sideshow performers were often called Geeks, refering to their weird acts, like the oft cited decapitation of chickens with the teeth. This originates from the Low-German Geck, meaning stupid, weird, or not normal.
The other possibility of origin is from the ancient greek gekas, meaning stupid, not to be confused with the honorable congressman. In this way, geek is similar in orgin to the word cynic.
This has of course come to mean a socially inept computer guru. The modern meaning of geek is very thoughly analyzed.
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