What is a Mortimer?
A mortimer is a person who you may not want to meet on the Internet, particularly if you’re a newbie. The name derives from a ventriloquist doll or dummy called Mortimer Snerd that was given fame by ventriloquist and voice artist, Edgar John Bergren. Bergren’s character was the opposite of how a mortimer would be defined today, since he was not very intelligent. The character was also briefly featured in a 1939 comic strip written and drawn by Bergren, and called Mortimer & Charlie. The key connection between the ventriloquist’s dummy and the modern definition is that both talk way too much. Yet the modern type is intelligent, just not a great communicator. The dummy’s last name “snerd” referred to the joining of the words snooty and nerd. Today that translates to a person who is really “up” on “in the know” on technical terms, but looks down on any person who is not. In the modern context, as relates to the Internet, the term gained popularity among fans and contributors to the Intern
