When applied to people, “weird” means weird.
“Strange” means weird, but with a five-figure income.
“Eccentric” means strange, but with a six-figure income.
“Original” means eccentric, but with a seven-figure income.
Which is how our tax policy can fairly be said to reward originality and punish weirdness.
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My father is an collector of books, antiques, of many, many things. Way too many things. Once, when defensive as several of us were teasing him about his “junk,” he sniffed that he was simply eccentric. “No, Dad,” we said. “You’re too poor to be eccentric. You’re just crazy.”
VERY TRUE!
Isaac Asimov, who had his own eccentricities, once wrote that when his teenage daughter told him that she loved him, he said, “Would you love me even if I were poor?” And she promptly replied, “Of course, Dad. You’d still be crazy, wouldn’t you?”