If the information age has given us nothing else, it’s certainly given us the opportunity for geeking out. If you don’t know what “geeking” is, you’ve come to just the place, because we’re going to cover everything you need to know…
We’ll start with what geeking means, including its lesser, additional meaning in drug culture, and how the term originated. Then we’ll move on to usage, using examples to better portray the meaning of the term, and we’ll discuss similar and synonymous words and phrases that can often be used in its place. Finally, we’ll be rounding off with a discussion on notable uses of the phrase in literature and the media.
And without further ado, let’s get into the nitty-gritty!
What does the slang word “geeking” usually mean?
“Geeking” is an adjective that means highly excited, or filled with excitement or enthusiasm. The word is most often used to describe being very excited or even mildly obsessed with some subject or topic, especially if it’s of a specialist nature, or if it has something of a cult following.
(For those of you who don’t already know, a cult following isn’t usually anything to do with cults, it simply refers to a highly passionate group of fans who strongly admire a particular person, idea, or a work of culture, such as a film, TV series, musical artist or genre, book series or video game franchise.)
The meaning of “Geeking” in drug culture
Unfortunately, as well as its use in mainstream contexts, “geeking” has an additional meaning in drug culture, where it refers to binging on crack cocaine. Or in other words using cocaine repeatedly and at higher and higher doses until you either can’t get anymore or you get too ill from it to use any more.
Crack cocaine is one of the most addictive substances out there and its very nature encourages this type of behaviour, making it an increasing problem in society and more pointedly a significant problem for addicts.
If you don’t know if someone is “geeking” in the sense of binging on crack cocaine, look out for the warning signs. The warning signs are as follows:
- Crack lung syndrome. (Symptoms include persistent cough, shortness of breath, and chest pain.)
- Increased heart rate.
- Pupils that appear unusually large may indicate recent drug use.
- Rapid and unhealthy weight loss.
- Psychological symptoms (Agitation, restlessness, paranoia.)
What’s the origin of the slang word “geeking”?
As you might imagine, the word “geeking” comes from the word “geek”. The word geek in turn comes from the geck, which means “fool” or “freak”. Thus the word geek was originally used to describe eccentric or non-mainstream people. However, the tables turned in the 21st century when it was reclaimed and used by people as a positive term.
Members of different fandoms began using the word “geek” self-referentially, always without malice, and often even with a sense of pride. It’s usually used to refer to someone who is interested in a particular topic for its own sake. The meanings of “geek” and “nerd” converged, with both words becoming associated with obsessive interests.
Following on from this in newer slang, the verb “to geek” or “to geek out” emerged to describe a state of getting intensely excited about a topic, especially one that might be considered quite nerdy or niche.
How you can use the slang word “geeking”
The phrases you typically hear around geeking are “I’m geeking out over here” or “The fans were really geeked by the time I got on stage.” Here are some more examples of the phrase in use in different contexts for you:
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I’m so geeked for my new job. I’m going to get right to the bottom of the issue.
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He had to go to rehab. He was so geeked he was having lung problems. I wouldn’t wish that on anybody.
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I’m so geeked for this opportunity I’m going to smash that interview.
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I was really geeking out over the new recording software.
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Fans get to geek out over the new Kindle Scribe, thanks to the convenient price of the refurbished versions.
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Geeking on crack cocaine is so dangerous. Don’t even try a gateway drug.
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I’m so geeked for Comicon - look who’s there! I’m really geeking out right now.
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I just love fan fiction, you can really geek out over the cult classics.
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I totally geeked out for Call of Duty 4. I barely left my room for days.
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I was up all night geeking out on World of Warcraft.
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Magic The Gathering events are the bomb man. It’s a real geek out.
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I really geeked out watching the Holy Grail documentary last night.
What can you say in place of “geeking”?
There are many similar and synonymous sayings to “geeking” that can often be used in its place. Here are some examples, some from traditional formal English, and some from informal slang:
- Obsessing
- Obsessed
- Getting really excited
- Getting highly excited
- Filled with excitement
- Enthusiastic
- Brimming with enthusiasm
- Getting one’s nerd on
- Nerding
- Studying
- Jazzed
- Pumped-up
- Eager
- Hungry/keen
- Raring to go
- Stoked
- Psyched
- Amped
Final word
So, to summarise, the word “geeking” usually refers to getting really excited about something that many people would consider unpopular or not mainstream. However, the word “geeking” is also used in drug culture to refer to binging on crack cocaine. It is therefore important that you understand the context in which the word is being used, so you know how to interpret it.
The precise origin of the word “geeking” is not well established. Although the word “geek” is often synonymous with the word “nerd”, today it’s quite fashionable to be part of any well established fandom or topic of common interest. Thus the phrase “geeking out” in reference to a fandom is not a reason for ridicule but rather it shows that the person has interests that may have become a quirk of their personality. You could argue that it’s something to be celebrated.
