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egghead — an intellectual, especially one who is perceived as being academic or bookish

Part of speech: NOUN

Definition: an intellectual, especially one who is perceived as being academic or bookish

Pronunciation (IPA): /ˈeɡhed/

Example Sentences

  • Don't be such an egghead - come play soccer with us!
  • The tech company hired several eggheads from MIT.
  • My brother is such an egghead that he reads quantum physics for fun.

egghead

NOUN

[/ˈeɡhed/]

an intellectual, especially one who is perceived as being academic or bookish

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🎤Pronunciation

🇺🇸 US/ˈeɡhed/
🇬🇧 UK/ˈeɡhed/

🌳Etymology

Rootegg
Suffix-head

Origin

American slang term that emerged in the 1950s, coined to describe intellectuals with bald heads whose skull shape resembled an egg. The term gained particular prominence when applied to politician Adlai Stevenson and became a pejorative for highbrow academics and thinkers.

Breakdown

egg (oval-shaped object) + head (the human head), combining the physical appearance of a bald intellectual's rounded cranium with the shape of an egg.

🎵Rhyme

redhead
deadhead
bedhead

🔗Collocations

academic egghead
call someone an egghead
egghead intellectual
political egghead
stereotypical egghead

📝Examples

😄 Fun example

“Don't be such an egghead - come play soccer with us!”

“The tech company hired several eggheads from MIT.”

😄 Fun example

“My brother is such an egghead that he reads quantum physics for fun.”

“The politician was dismissed as just another egghead with no practical experience.”

📚Related Words

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