n.
A flight to or from a high-tech hub, especially Silicon Valley.
Example Citation:
"And with more business travelers turning to the red-eye, airlines have bulked up their overnight schedules to meet demand. The San Francisco Bay area, home of Silicon Valley, launches 28 so-called late-night 'nerd birds' every night: 20 out of San Francisco, seven from San Jose and one from Oakland, an increase of roughly 40 percent from just five years ago."
— Amanda Lang, "Red Eye Flights," CNNfn, February 13, 2001
Earliest Citation:
American Airlines will put a third 'Nerd Bird' in the air on Nov. 3, providing another link between Austin and Silicon Valley.
— R. Michelle Breyer, "American plans 3rd 'Nerd Bird'," Austin American-Statesman, September 16, 1995
Notes:
The original nerd birds were flights between Silicon Valley and Austin, Texas, the home of Dell Computer Corp. and other high-tech firms. This is reflected in the earliest citation I could find for nerd bird (see below).
A closely related term is Barbie bird, which refers to a flight between Silicon Valley and Los Angeles, which often has a high ratio of "actresses" and "models" who fly to Silicon Valley to work as booth bunnies in technology trade shows.
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New words. 2013.