grawlix
n.— «Mort Walker of “Beetle Bailey” fame invented a cartoon vocabulary called Symbolia that we cartoonists make use of from time to time. According to Mr. Walker, that little set of typographical symbols that stand for obscenities are called “grawlixes.”» —“Tired of wide pages? Grawlixes won’t help” by Debbie Kornmiller Arizona Daily Star (Phoenix) Jan. 29, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, baseball slang: If a batter...
Cat hair may be something you brush off, but cat hair is also a slang term that means “money.” In the same way, cat beer isn’t alcoholic — some people use cat beer as a joking term for “milk.” And imagine walking on a...