# Cartoon expletives **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 10, 2001, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoon-expletives/53862 "2001-02-10T01:30:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![insider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@insider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/insider)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoon-expletives/53862/1 "2001-02-10T01:30:10Z")
In cartoons characters such as @$#%& are symbols of expetives. Where did these come from and is there a proper way to place the characters so that they become different expletives? ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Lord\_Davidson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bc8723/32.png) [@Dark\_Lord\_Davidson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Lord_Davidson)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoon-expletives/53862/2 "2001-02-10T02:04:42Z")
I think they were just used because you usually don’t see those particular symbols in cartoon dialogue. And there’s no set pattern for them either. In other words, @#$%! off. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoon-expletives/53862/3 "2001-02-10T02:20:00Z")
Like I’m steering clear of a thread with THIS title? Nah. 😃 It’s called “masking” in the Internet Chat world. As far as I know, nobody’s ever set a pattern down. Which is not to say that we couldn’t start. But, we’ve a bit of a congestions problem these days, so let’s not muck up the &%@$#\*&^% works, shall we? 😛 Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoon-expletives/53862/4 "2001-02-10T02:49:16Z")
I remember that the video character Q-bert said “@!#?@!” whenever he got bonked in the game, verbatim. What that actually meant is still a mystery. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoon-expletives/53862/5 "2001-02-10T08:54:06Z")
I would venture that the practice dates back to hot lead linotype machines. The special characters were the only non-blank symbols available straight off the keyboard to create the appropriately suggestive psuedo-letter groups. ---
**Author:** ![Stimpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/779978/32.png) [@Stimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stimpy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoon-expletives/53862/6 "2001-02-10T10:11:02Z")
For the very best examples of @#&£!?! expletives, read an Asterix comic. You’ve got skulls, swirly patterns, wounded swirly patterns, woman being chased by a wolf… and as far as I remember the expletives always had different looks for whichever language was being used, i.e. a Roman, a Gaul, a Pirate, and so on would all swear with different symbols. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoon-expletives/53862/7 "2001-02-10T21:39:59Z")
The symbols actually have specified names (at least, Mort Walker has named them and it seems to be part of the industry): The balloon is a “maladicta balloon” The typographic symbols are “jarns.” There are also the “quimp” (looks like the planet Saturn), “nittles” (like asterisks), and “grawlix” (a scrawled and unreadible bit of text).