different between obscenity vs grawlix

English

Etymology

obscene +? -ity, from Latin obscenitas.

Noun

obscenity (countable and uncountable, plural obscenities)

1. (countable) Something that is obscene.

   Martha wouldn't go into the art museum because, as she put it, "They have obscenities just sitting out, on display!"

2. (countable) An act of obscene behaviour.

   Bestiality was outlawed as an obscenity in the strongly conservative community.

3. (countable) Specifically, an offensive word; a profanity; a dirty word.

   Eliza couldn't stand her daughter's music; as she saw it, it was just shouted obscenities and a heavy drum beat.

4. (uncountable) The qualities that make something obscene; lewdness, indecency, or offensive behaviour.

   The coalition of religious conservatives was campaigning against, in their view, rampant obscenity in the entertainment industry.

Translations

English

Etymology

Apparently coined by American cartoonist Mort Walker in 1964.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?????l?ks/

Noun

grawlix (plural grawlixes or grawlix or grawlices)

1. A spiral-shaped graphic used to indicate swearing in comic strips.
2. A string of typographical symbols, especially "@#$%&!", used (especially in comic strips) to represent an obscenity or swearword.

   Synonym: obscenicon

3. A series of violence related images in a speech bubble to represent obscenity, swearwords or profanity.

See also

• jarn
• nittle
• phosphene
• quimp
• spirl
• squean
• The Lexicon of Comicana on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

References

• Mort Walker, The Lexicon of Comicana

• "Holy $#!%: Where Did The Symbolic Swear Come From?", Dictionary.com. http://www.dictionary.com/e/what-the/. (February 8, 2018).