A reader writes:
Contrary to the NY Mag article you posted, “derp” was not invented as “an onomatopoeic exclamation uttered in response to a boneheaded action of some kind.” According to Matt and Trey, its original meaning was that of an obvious joke that you could see coming from a mile away – a derp joke. They came up with it on the set of BASEketball. Whenever someone ran in to a wall or something they’d yell “derp!” in reaction to the low brow gag. So it’s a callout of lazy comedy rather than general stupidity … hence the Rob Schneider bit.
Seen above – one of my favorite takedowns of Hollywood of all time. And I’m totally serial about that. Meanwhile, Noah Smith provides his own definition of derp.
The Dish 