107 t-shirts for geeks that do not suck

Being naked sucks.

Not for you, but the people around you. You might be living the geek dream, but a chubby belly, pale skin, and the muscle tone of a newborn calve isn’t doing anything for the people who have to look at you.

That’s why t-shirts are good.

(bad example, she probably looks good without a t-shirt)

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Nerds like shirts-with-funny-things-on-them like a fat kid likes cake. I don’t know why; I’m not a psychologist (although I play one on the Internet). But you can use that to your advantage. It’s might be too late to order t-shirts online in time for Christmas, but I thought I’d continue my Gift Guide for Geeks by taking a look at some of the best shirt choices on several popular websites.

If you’re a t-shirt addict, you might want to check out some of these fine blogs that are devoted to t-shirts: addic[tee]d, Preshrunk, iloveyourshirt, and tcritic. I’m only doing this for one post; they do this all the time.

On to the t-shirts!

The usual yada-yada: if you disagree with my picks, or you think I missed something then leave a comment and I’ll update. There are no affiliate links in this post (//engtech is a hobby, not a business). I only directly link to the product for Threadless and Etsy, because I know they won’t break the link when my back is turned. Photos are from the respective websites. Am I missing a good store? Tell me.

Legend

• tg – Think Geek is one of the most well known geek stores on the Internet. Penny Arcade and Slashdot sell stuff through them. I’ve ordered from them before.
• jx – Jinx is a popular site with gamers. I’ve ordered from them before.
• pr – Phatrags is a site I hadn’t heard of before. More offensive than others.
• tsh – T-shirt Hell is another site with a lot of offensive t-shirts.
• gv – Geek Vogue is a European site. I hadn’t heard of them before but their email inspired this post.
• tl – Threadless constantly gets rave reviews from everyone who uses them and has a thriving community.
• ns – Nerdy Shirts is proof that StumbleUpon can be useful.
• fic – Found Item Clothing sells t-shirts you see in movies and on TV.
  ec – Enclothe.
• od – Oddica.
• et – Etsy (lots of handmade stuff here).

General

• Caffeine symbol (tg)
  
• <geek> (tg)
  
• Geek Inside (tg)
• geek. (tg)
  
• I’m with genius (tg)
• Keep out of direct sunlight (tg)
• Looking for a japanese girlfriend (in japanese) (tg)
  
• Carpe noctem – seize the night (jx)
• Jinx nerdcore (jx)
  
• hacker. (jx)
• This was supposed to be the future – where is my jetpack (tl)
  
• Want to buy it? (tl)
  
• Procrastinators: leaders of tomorrow (tl)
• The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog (tl)
  
• Nerds unite (tl)
  
• Nerd berd (tl)
  
• Evil genius (et)
• Analog (et)
  
• nerd (ns)
  

Pop Culture

• Who’s your daddy? (pr)
• I like it when you call me big poppa (pr)
• OB/GYN Kenobi (tsh)
• Darth Vader hedge death star (tl)
  
• What would Mcgyver do? (tl)
  
• E.T. phone home (tl)
  
• Ping pong Vader (od)
  
• Abandon Ship (od)
  
• Optimus Prime (et)

For The Ladies

• I heart my geek (tg)
  
• /usr/bin/girl
  
• Totoro face (tg)
• Modo-Kun face (tg)
• Press and hold X to pick up (jx)
• I am your webmistress you must submit (jx)
  
• pr0n (jx)
  
• Talk nerdy to me (jx)
  
• Cuddletron 5000 (et)
  

Kids T-Shirts

• Newbie (tg)
• v2.0 (and v1.0 for the parent) (tg)

Bloggers

• I’m blogging this (tg)
  
• blog (tl)
  

Internet Culture

• NSFW (tg)
• Meh (tg)
  
• STFU university (tg)
  
• OMFG – Ontario Mega Finance Group (tg)
  
• THE INTERNET: All of the piracy, none of the scurvy (jx)
• Every time you download music, god kills a kitten (jx)
• Diggnation (jx)
  
• Ninjas and pirates agree: cowboys suck (tl)
• Free hugs (ns)
  
• On the Internet I’m a 15 Year Old Girl (ns)
  
• I Heart Google (ns)
  
• Ninja Pirate (ec)
  

Computers

• I read your e-mail (tg)
  
• No, I will not fix your computer. (tg)
• There’s no place like 127.0.0.1 (tg)
  
• Practice Safe Hex (tg)
  
• Power symbol (tg)
  
• Got root? (tg)
  
• I see dead pixels (tg)
• You say “bug”, I say “feature” (gv)
• The Architect (gv)
• Ctrl z (tl)
  
• Stat city (tl)
  

Robots

• Robots need hugs too (jx)
  
• (sad robot) (tl)
  
• Robot dance contest (tl)
  
• Trainman (od)
  
• Snailbot (od)
  
• Bleedbot (ec)
  

Gamers

• FF – Caught in the Act (Penny Arcade fans) (tg)
  
• FF – Apocalypse (Penny Arcade fans) (tg)
  
• Jesus says “Don’t be a dick.” (tg)
  
• Jesus is my guild leader. (tg)
  
• Insert coin: the evolution of man kind. (tg)
  
• Leeroy Jenkins – School of Welp Training (tg)
  
• It’s not my fault you suck. (tg)
• I hate Jack Thompson. (tg)
• 1up mushroom (tg)
• The Horde (jx)
  
• /dance (jx)
  
• Green linen shirt (lvl5 chest armor) (jx)
  
• pwnstar (jx)
  
• Live in your world, get pwned in mine (playstation style) (jx)
• Wiid (tsh)
  
• Wii-tarded (tsh)
• Your mom: Rated E for everyone (tsh)
  
• Nintendo family tree (ns)
  
• Gamer nostalgia (ns)
  

Roleplaying

• Rogues do it from behind (tg)
  
• I roll 20s (tg)
  
• +20 Shirt of Smiting (tg)
• -1 STR / +1 CHA (tg)
  
• I am not a geek (i’m a lvl 12 paladin) (jx)
• Guns don’t kill people – magic missiles do (jx)
• RPG skeleton (jx)
  
• Jesus saves… and takes half damage (jx)
• Critical hit (d20 cutting through skin) (jx)
• NPC (jx)
  
• My other sword is vorpal (jx)
• Carpe DM – seize the dungeon master (jx)
• (monster cuts off hand with sword) (tl)
  

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Gift Guide for Geeks is a series I started for Christmas 2006 where I did a round-up of gift ideas for the geek in your life. It’s an excuse for me to write about things I like.

Related Posts

1. Introduction – Some personal stories of what the holiday experience is usually like for me.
2. Gifts.com – I go through one of those gift suggestion websites and try to pick out the good from the bad. TIP: these sites suck.
3. Gamers – A list of what I think is good for the Xbox 360, Nintendo DS and PC video gamers.
4. Comic Books – My favorite comic books available in trade paperbacks.
5. Programming/Tech Books – Top ten recommended books for programmers, managers and anyone working in high tech.
6. Books – 45 of my favorite books (non-fiction, fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, humour).
7. Movies – 81 of the best DVD recommendations.
8. TV series on DVD – some shows I like.
9. T-shirts – 100+ geek t-shirts that I like.
10. Last Minute Suggestions – waited too long and need a gift in a hurry? Try these.

• Tips for Shopping Online in Canada
• Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas