word of the day: grawlix

[eub]

This was on the radio, on "Says You"'s word-bluffing game, and we chose this definition to be the right one because there ought to be a word for it. The on-air players guessed it for the same reason. And it is.

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci1265304,00.html

A grawlix is a sequence of typographical symbols used to represent a non-specific, profane word or phrase. Here's an example of a typical grawlix:

#@$%*!

The term first appeared in a 1964 article called Let's get down to grawlixes by American cartoonist Mort Walker, who is best known as the creator of the Beetle Bailey and Hi and Lois cartoons. Later, in a book called The Lexicon of Comicana, Walker created and named an international set of symbols used in comics around the world. Walker called his system Symbolia.

Here are some examples of other terms in the list:

* agitrons: wiggly lines indicating that something is shaking
* briffits: clouds of dust indicating that a character left in a rush
* emanata: straight lines rising from around a character's head indicating surprise
* plewds: drops of sweat indicating that a character is hot or stressed
* squeans: asterisks with an empty center indicating drunkeness or dizziness
* waftaroms: wavy lines rising from something indicating a strong smell or heat.

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Also:

graw!