An individual who goes beyond normal means to be portrayed as a nerd for the social acceptance/"cool factor" while having no actual "nerd" characteristics. Said person will dress like a nerd (faux glasses, 80's apparel, etc...) and throw out the occasional Star Wars or Star Trek reference, but has probably only seen one move/episode.
I asked Joe to fix my laptop, but it turns out he's just a novelty nerd and doesn't really know anything about computers.
A artistic performer with an act that is strongly linked to some particular gimmick that makes it stand out from the crowd, even though it has little intrinsic value, and is therefore likely to wear out its audience quickly.
The term sometimes refers to a performance itself, rather than the performer behind it.
- Lady Gaga's persona is all about outrageousness, extravagance and shock value, but as far as actual performance quality goes, it's safe to say that she is the biggest novelty act to come up in many years.
- The Blue Man group, initially conceived as a novelty act in the late 1980s, has demonstrated tremendous longevity, becoming a permanent fixture of the stage scene in cities like Boston, New York and Las Vegas.
A person that writes novels; books that are 50,000+ words in length.
I'm allowed to use my laptop during earth hour if I'm on battery power, right? I can't help it, I'm a novelist and my storyline is too compelling right now to quit.