nerd-snipe
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
To present someone with a very interesting problem to solve, distracting them from whatever they were doing previously.
Register: slang
Where it’s used:
Used
American English
Examples
[…]I am looking forward to revising this chapter when better tooling becomes available (or I get nerd-sniped into writing it).
Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Common questions
What does “nerd-snipe” mean?
To present someone with a very interesting problem to solve, distracting them from whatever they were doing previously.
Is “nerd-snipe” formal or informal?
nerd-snipe is generally slang.