Comment from “Nosey” on my “Country obscenicons” posting: August 1, 2010 While “obscenicons” is also correct, the more-widely-used term for these is “grawlixes” (which also happens to be my favorite child-friendly profanity). Obscenicon is a portmanteau of obscenity and icon ‘symbol’, introduced by Ben Zimmer in 2006 in “Obscenicons in the workplace” (here) as an improvement on cursing … Continue reading The obscenicons vs. the grawlixes