poindexter

noun

poin·​dex·​ter ˈpȯin(t)-ˌdek-stər 

variants or Poindexter

plural poindexters or Poindexters

US, informal

: a person with intellectual or academic interests or pretensions

"We have this picture of data scientists as these Poindexters in lab coats … "

—Matt West

Because, as the head of a team of poindexters from Hewlett-Packard and U.C.L.A., this 37-year-old chemistry professor is a leading figure in the whiz-bang field of nanotechnology …

—James Wolcott

He's an absolute swot, but shares his knowledge generously with the rest of the class, unlike those Poindexters I tried to copy from …

—Tony Squires

especially : nerd

Any self-respecting poindexter knows to carry an eyeglass repair kit with those tiny screwdrivers to tighten a loose earpiece.

—Jason Tanz

… The Simpsons boasts such an impressive array of geeks, dweebs, nerds, poindexters, doofuses and socially maladjusted malcontents …

—Nathan Rabin

Examples of poindexter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Visions of airless basements filled my head, hapless poindexters drowning under unceasing floods of information overload. —IEEE Spectrum, 22 Feb. 2010

Word History

Etymology

from Poindexter, boy genius who wears a lab coat and mortarboard hat in the television cartoon series Felix the Cat (1959-60)

First Known Use

1981, in the meaning defined above