Grawlix

Grawlix (/ˈɡrɔːlɪks/) or obscenicon is the use of typographical symbols to replace profanity.

[3] The first known grawlix appeared in November 1, 1901 story of Gene Carr's comic strip Lady Bountiful, with the title "Lady Bountiful is Shocked", and continued to expand its usage throughout 1902 and 1903.

In November 2022, Merriam-Webster and Hasbro added the word to the seventh edition of The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, citing familiarity among younger players.

[7] A Merriam-Webster blog post states that the word grawlix was coined by cartoonist Mort Walker (creator of the comic strip Beetle Bailey) and may have originated from the word growl, which is a sound a person makes when they are angry.

[3] Walker coined several words related to comic strip art, although he attributed the coinage of "grawlix" to Charles D. Rice of This Week magazine in Walker's book Backstage at the Strips.