Is "neckbeard" supposed to be the new offensive term?

[Royal King]

Since Nerd, Geek, and Gamer are now trendy, has Neckbeard taken over as the new insult? Case in point:

I was sitting on a bench playing my DS when a man walked by, looked down at me, sneered, and muttered "f***ing neckbeard" before going on his way. Some context:

1) I was sitting on a bench in Kohl's while my wife shopped.
2) I am 30 years old and am actually clean shaven, so I have no bearded neck. I'm about 185 pounds, so I wouldn't really consider myself overweight.
3) I have never seen the guy before or since then.
4) He looked about 20-ish and actually had a goatee. Meaning he had more facial hair than I did.

Near as I can tell, he saw a man playing a DS and decided to insult the stranger on the spot. So, does this mean that "Neckbeard" is the new go-to insult replacing nerd?

If so, what is the new go-to insult replacing "douchebag wanker"? (In case I see him again.)

 

[Foolery]

I guess. It's akin to 'basement dweller' and similar insults. I haven't heard anyone use that term in public. 'Douche Canoe' seems be a go-to insult for 'douchebag wanker' these days.

From Urban Dictionary.
1. Douche Canoe
Someone who exceedes the limits of being a normal douche or douche bag.

 

[Legion]

Pretty much.

Insults come and go, people are always looking for new ways to be nasty to one another. Sometimes the insults become "empowering" and are used ironically by those who have it used against them. In them cases people start to search for a new insult as the old one is no longer working.

Got to wonder what he'd have said if you had been a lady though. Neckbeard's bad enough for a guy, let alone a girl.

 

[Pink Gregory]

You should have looked up, called him a ****, and gone about your day.

 

[Phasmal]

I dunno, it seems like no matter what you do, someone will find a way to be hostile to you about it.
Kinda weird, though, I've never really heard of guys getting called a neckbeard outside of the internet.
Guess you're not allowed to do anything really, some dick will always have something to say.
Don't really take my 3DS out much, I get paranoid someone will try to steal it. >.>

Got to wonder what he'd have said if you had been a lady though. Neckbeard's bad enough for a guy, let alone a girl.

Boys are neckbeards, girls are fake.

 

[Legion]

Got to wonder what he'd have said if you had been a lady though. Neckbeard's bad enough for a guy, let alone a girl.

Boys are neckbeards, girls are fake.

That reminds me of this tweet:

When a moron accuses somebody of being a fake, they can do the above. We now need to come up with a response for neckbeard. Which is a little trickier I think. Especially if the person making the insult has a beard, and the person being insulted does not...

 

[Phasmal]

When a moron accuses somebody of being a fake, they can do the above. We now need to come up with a response for neckbeard. Which is a little trickier I think. Especially if the person making the insult has a beard, and the person being insulted does not...

I think the best response to being accused of being fake is either to not respond at all or to COMMIT 100000%.
`You caught me! I spent all this money and all this time playing games just to meet SEXY GAMER GUYS! It's ALL FOR YOU!!!!!`

But with neckbeard, what can you really say?
If it were me I'd probably stare off into the distance, say `That was random` and then go back to playing the game.
Hmm, there's gotta be a better comeback.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

I think the best response to being accused of being fake is either to not respond at all or to COMMIT 100000%.
`You caught me! I spent all this money and all this time playing games just to meet SEXY GAMER GUYS! It's ALL FOR YOU!!!!!`

But with neckbeard, what can you really say?
If it were me I'd probably stare off into the distance, say `That was random` and then go back to playing the game.
Hmm, there's gotta be a better comeback.

There's no need for a comeback. Just stroke your unshaven chin a bit and if they don't catch the hint then mumble "Look who's talking".

OT: I think you wouldn't be asking this if it wasn't. Though I've never seen or heard anyone use it outside of message boards yet.

captcha: twenty one. Nice guess of my age there.

 

[JoJo]

I think it is, 'nerd' and 'geek' have become far less pejorative over the last decade as computers and technology became 'in' and so a new word was needed to take over their old meaning, and at-least online that word seems to be 'neckbeard'. Never heard it used in real life yet though.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Been around for a bit, but probably finding hold in more social circles. Haven't heard it personally yet, but seen it tossed around on the web for quite a few years.
Just like makes me think sometimes how I never really thought I'd hear people use n00b outside of the obscure LAN Gaming/MMO and/or hacker scenes about 15 years or so ago... How things change... and getting older is strange.

 

[Something Amyss]

New? This is not a new thing. It was passed around as an insult like, ten years ago.

Yes, it's an insult. It's super funny when you see it used and you live in an area where almost everyone has one. Even the women. I'm prett sure you can't be a citizen of Vermont if you can't grow a neckbeard in the winter.

In short, it's hilarious because it ends up having no meaning. When someone with a neckbeard calls someone without a neckbeard a neckbeard, I'm usually afraid I'll pass out laughing.

Boys are neckbeards, girls are fake.

Well, to be fair, I can't think of a single reason that a girl would play a video game. Especially not the DS, where Nintendo courted women more heavily (and isn't that one of the reasons people bitched about "filthy casuals?")!

[We now need to come up with a response for neckbeard. Which is a little trickier I think. Especially if the person making the insult has a beard, and the person being insulted does not...

Check and see if they have a Tap Out shirt. If they do, just walk away. They've suffered enough.

 

[Azkar Almsivi]

Yes it is an offensive term, not really new though. Basically if you're "less nerdy" than them, you're a poser, if you're "more nerdy" you're a neckbeard.

If you're female you're flash out of luck, no matter what you do you're just a poser.

If someone actually uses the term neckbeard and uses gamer girl as an insult, if they also do it IN PUBLIC, then we can break down the situation and work out the proper reaction, let's go!
Now judging by the complete lack of social skills, empathy and focus of degrading others to make themselves temporarily feel empowered due to shoddy self esteem issues... well as we all know our logical responses are limited. However judging by the current information we've gathered, the best bet would be to ignore them.

Or look at them with a bewildered look on your face, point at them and laugh, laugh loudly. Wear a hysterical look on your face, then walk off and call them a creep or a freak. You would be amazed how deep a simple 'less' offensive insult can sting someone with crippling self esteem issues.

I never understood how someone could insult someone out of the blue. Feeding in negativity constantly just stuffs everyone over in the long run. I claim to be empathetic, but I can't understand the mental mind farting required to mistake this behavior for a good idea, so I guess I'm not empathetic.

 

[O maestre]

I didn't think neckbeard was new, I remember it being used on usenet forums and in IRL to negatively describe table top gamers

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

It's more of an in-community insult(more common amongst online boards like reddit, etc.)

No, it hasn't become the new "nerd/geek" those terms are still being used pejoratively, and often, at least where I live.

Those will take more time to get rid of, and personally I think it's far from gone, this whole "geek is now popular" thing seems to be a misconception; people liking the Big Bang theory and consequently Leonard because they "find him funny" does not equate into people not giving you the look when you say you have played a lot of video games and see them as something besides a tool to blow off steam with.

Or when you mention that you think Lord of The Rings/Star Wars/Anything by Quentin Tarantino is a masterpiece in film-making.

 

[Funyahns]

I never accuse women of being fake gamer girls. I accuse them of being mediocre at playing games as a taunt though.

It is not much of an insult though honestly. BTW who insults random people in public. Its a good way to get your face rearranged, never know if some nutter is going to just pound on you

 

[Doclector]

Human beings are just plain unpleasant 99...no, that's unfair, 90% of the time.

Hell, y'know how it became unacceptable to use "gay" as an insult? Which, of course, is great, by the way. Quite incredible when I think of how a relatively short while ago nobody bat an eyelid.

Well, the people who used to use that as an insult have replaced it with "Autistic". Anything they don't like or understand is now "autistic" or made by someone with autism.

And allow me to re-enforce, to make absolutely clear to cover my ass from a knee jerk reaction, it is great that gay cannot be used as an insult anymore. It is absolutely a positive thing that it isn't socially acceptable anymore, so I don't mean to belittle the work of the people who made that happen, but as someone with aspergers, I'm a tad pissed off that nobody seems to give a shit. My real, actual medical condition is being used as an insult, and not one fucker seems to care.

Sorry for that diversion, but I mean to prove a point. There is no logic. There is no reason. This is exactly why I think what I said in the first sentence of this post. This is the least dickish thing they might do. They have and they will murder for less. And there is no fathomable reason behind any goddamn bit of it.

And it's not that I don't think humanity can be great. Medicine: Humanity. The technology I type this rant on; Humanity. Light where there is none, warmth in the cold, thousands of miles traversed in under a day, tea, fucking tea, fuck yes, humanity has potential. But trying to make sense of them, of the normal people, is enought to make your head implode.

Oh, and on neckbeards itself, I'm not getting rid of it. I don't give a shit, I keep it well trimmed, it keeps my face warm, and it stops me from looking like a fucking twelve year old.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Wow. I don't think I've ever heard 'neckbeard' used as an insult in real life before, only non-insultingly as a noun for a beard that exists solely under the chin(a friend's brother that I drank with a couple times had a prominent yet neat neckbeard, he was a pretty cool dude). It's pretty messed up that some guy would say that out loud, in public, towards a total stranger.

I'd have called the guy out, or at the very least (if he was significantly larger than me) I'd have loudly muttered something back. But I have a short fuse, always carry a pocket knife, look kind of sketchy, and have health insurance.

 

[Playful Pony]

Wow, what a hip and current person that guy must be... I haven't actually heard anyone be called neckbeard, I thought that was just a style of facial hair X3. "Pre-pubertale sauekølle" is my go-to response to douchebags these days; may not work as well if your not Norwegian X3.