“What does one call the use of random non-alphabet characters to indicate cursing? It’s a universally understood device, and is applied in both graphic and textual settings. It is such a commonly accepted staple that I assumed it must already be defined and described — but apparently it’s not.”

Word of the day: Grawlix, “a string of typographical symbols used (especially in comic strips) to represent an obscenity or swear word.”

UPDATE: Not really any flickr sets dedicated to grawlix, but retronomatopeya is a flickr set of vintage comic scans showing some lovely sound effects.

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