English

Noun

nerdcore ‎(uncountable)

1. (music, humorous) An intentionally nerdy style of hip-hop music.
   • 2007 August 5, Alex Williams, “Dungeons, Dragons and Dope Beats”, in New York Times:

     Many nerdcore anthems — “You Got Asperger’s” by MC Frontalot, “Fett’s Vette” by MC Chris, “View Source,” by Ytcracker (“Eagerly awaiting my macro advances/running with my beta cuz I’m taking chances”) — are as much efforts at comedy as they are attempts at sincere hip-hop.

   • 2008, GameAxis Unwired‎ magazine (July 2008)

     A nerdcore track would take loop samples not from popular industrial tracks, but from the synthesizers of a popular NES game like Dig Dug…

   • 2008, Benjamin Nugent, American Nerd: The Story of My People‎

     Self-styled “nerdcore” rappers wear pocket protectors and rhyme about hard drives.

2. (slang, chiefly attributive) The most dedicated nerds, especially in terms of computer ability.
   • 2007, HWM magazine (December 2007)

     We're tech reviewers, not nerdcore programmers…

   • 2009 March 28, Darren Zenko, “Exploring the Wii’s retro charms”, in Toronto Star^{Review/article/608996}:

     But the warmest spot in my nerdcore heart is reserved for the old-school pleasures of the Wii Virtual Console.

   • 2008, Windows Vista‎ magazine (Winter 2008)

     But it takes the right kind of noodle to make a great gaming rig worthy of the “nerdcore elite” (and we mean that in a good way) without spending a fortune.

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