grawlixes

Noun

grawlix (plural grawlixes or grawlix)

1. An image resembling an illegible scribble used for this purpose.
   • There is a wealth of comicana waiting for the student with enough drive and depth of understanding. Once he masters the secret of the waftarom, the solrad, and the grawlix, he can mix in any art circle but he's own his own from here on.1975, Mort Walker, “50-50 or Fight”, in Backstage at the Strips, [New York, N.Y.]: A&W Visual Library, →ISBN, page 31
2. A string of typographical symbols (such as "@#$%&!") used for this purpose.
   • When Chicago-based author and illustrator Anders Nilsen was a political-minded college student at University of New Mexico, grawlix granted him a glimmer of fame. Demonstrating against a newly-enacted law, Nilsen wielded a hand-painted sign reading "F*&# Proposition 187." […] As a fellow comic...2011 May 18, Heidi Stevens, “What the grawlix?”, in Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Ill.: Tribune Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 Nov 2022

   Synonyms:

   obscenicon

3. A series of violence-related images (such as bombs, daggers, and skulls) used for this purpose.