John Leland wrote:
> I believe I read an article by Asimov in which he claimed "geek" was a term
> used in circus sideshows for people who killed chickens with their teeth and
> other bizarre acts.
> In my experience, Asimov did not know as much about language history as he
> thought he did, so I do not know how accurate this may be.
In this case he was correct. The older meaning of geek (but one that is
still used) is a circus performer who eats disgusting things (like
swallowing live toads and biting the heads off of chickens).