# Ixnay on the iglatinpay **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 20, 2005, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ixnay-on-the-iglatinpay/322566 "2005-09-20T17:40:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bubastis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bubastis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubastis)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ixnay-on-the-iglatinpay/322566/1 "2005-09-20T17:40:57Z")
OK, i understand pig latin, but what does _ixnay_ mean? Take out the piglatin and your left with _Nix_, right? What does that mean? It’s usually used when trying to hush something up, maybe I’m not hearing it correctly? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ixnay-on-the-iglatinpay/322566/2 "2005-09-20T17:44:37Z")
> [@bubastis](#): > > OK, i understand pig latin, but what does _ixnay_ mean? Take out the piglatin and your left with _Nix_, right? What does that mean? It’s usually used when trying to hush something up, maybe I’m not hearing it correctly? There’s a somewhat dated expression that goes “nix on \”. Someone’s lighting up in the non-smoking section? _“Nix on the cigarettes, pal”_. Someone’s trying to get into the nightclub while improperly attired? _“Sorry, man – nix on the cut-off jeans.”_ ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ixnay-on-the-iglatinpay/322566/3 "2005-09-20T17:45:49Z")
Nix means stop, forbid or veto. Like NIX lice treatment. or “She nixed the idea of Chinese food for the third time this week.” It can also mean nothing, as is “I got nix, nada, nothin’.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ixnay-on-the-iglatinpay/322566/4 "2005-09-20T17:47:44Z")
As for **nix** : > [@](#): > > nix is a common abbreviation for the German word “nichts,” which means “nothing,” and may also be used as a verb to indicate the exclusion of something. > **[Nix](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nix)** > > Nix or NIX may refer to: So you take a slang term and further obscure it with pig latin. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ixnay-on-the-iglatinpay/322566/5 "2005-09-20T17:48:17Z")
I think “nix” is from the German (maybe via Yiddish?) word “nichts,” meaning “nothing.” Interestingly, I think “ixnay” is one of the few Pig Latin words to make into general usage. Anyone got any others? ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ixnay-on-the-iglatinpay/322566/6 "2005-09-20T18:31:34Z")
> [@Sal Ammoniac](#): > > I think “nix” is from the German (maybe via Yiddish?) word “nichts,” meaning “nothing.” Interestingly, I think “ixnay” is one of the few Pig Latin words to make into general usage. Anyone got any others? Yep: “amscray” ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ixnay-on-the-iglatinpay/322566/7 "2005-09-20T18:45:49Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > Yep: “amscray” Good one. What’s cool is that there’s a bit of preserved '50’s slang in both “amscray” and “ixnay.” Linguistic flies in the amber. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ixnay-on-the-iglatinpay/322566/8 "2005-09-20T19:17:02Z")
> [@bubastis](#): > > OK, i understand pig latin Then, you should have written igpay atinlay. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ixnay-on-the-iglatinpay/322566/9 "2005-09-20T19:19:20Z")
There are people who don’t know what \*nix \* means? I’m not trying to be snarky, actually, this makes me feel old! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ixnay-on-the-iglatinpay/322566/10 "2005-09-20T19:23:50Z")
When more common, _nix_ was sometimes used in humorous movie-industry article headlines, like “Stix hicks nix pic” or “The film didn’t do well during its trial run in some small city”. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ixnay-on-the-iglatinpay/322566/11 "2005-09-20T19:39:24Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > There are people who don’t know what \*nix \* means? > > I’m not trying to be snarky, actually, this makes me feel old! ☹ I think that in some regions of the U.S., the term is still used to this day in spoken language. In other areas (mine), you’ll rarely hear someone say _nix_. You may well run across it in print, though. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ixnay-on-the-iglatinpay/322566/12 "2005-09-20T19:45:53Z")
> [@](#): > > OK, i understand pig latin, but what does ixnay mean? Just out of curiousity, did you see **Who Framed Roger Rabbit** or **Young Frankenstein**? If so, were you confused by the use of “ixnay”? Or did you simply ignore it or let it pass as a reference you didn’t get? ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ixnay-on-the-iglatinpay/322566/13 "2005-09-20T21:51:32Z")
> [@Sal Ammoniac](#): > > Good one. What’s cool is that there’s a bit of preserved '50’s slang in both “amscray” and “ixnay.” Linguistic flies in the amber. To scram is 50’s slang? :eek: The things I learn reading the Dope… ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ixnay-on-the-iglatinpay/322566/14 "2005-09-20T22:00:46Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > When more common, _nix_ was sometimes used in humorous movie-industry article headlines, like > > “Stix hicks nix pic” or “The film didn’t do well during its trial run in some small city”. The actual _Variety_ headline was **Hix Nix Stix Pix** , referring to audiences in rural areas who didn’t like the way that rural communities were depicted in films. ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ixnay-on-the-iglatinpay/322566/15 "2005-09-20T22:31:07Z")
In the Disney animated Aladdin, one of the things the genie says in his little disclaimer is: “Ixnay on the wishing for more wishes…” Leads me to believe that the pig-latin version is nearly as commonly used as the non-pig version. ---
**Author:** ![bubastis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bubastis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubastis)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ixnay-on-the-iglatinpay/322566/16 "2005-09-20T23:01:22Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Just out of curiousity, did you see **Who Framed Roger Rabbit** or **Young Frankenstein**? If so, were you confused by the use of “ixnay”? Or did you simply ignore it or let it pass as a reference you didn’t get? I understood basically what was meant , say in the simpsons " ixnay on the omarmay!!" But as the term “Nix” never made it this side of the pond, I was unsure as to what the sentence would be in non pig latin. Eh, english. For the longest time, I thought it was icksnay, translated as “Snick”. However, I now have the “Aightstray opeday”! Esusjay. ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ixnay-on-the-iglatinpay/322566/17 "2005-09-20T23:25:49Z")
> [@bubastis](#): > > But as the term “Nix” never made it this side of the pond, I was unsure as to what the sentence would be in non pig latin. Eh, english. We actually don’t refer to the _pond_ anymore, we now call it the \*\* mucky puddle\*\*. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ixnay-on-the-iglatinpay/322566/18 "2005-09-21T00:25:06Z")
[This website](http://plateaupress.com.au/wfw/eightysix.htm) says that “nix” originally comes from “eighty-six”. I can’t vouch for that, but I have seen the expression used in Dashiell Hammett novels (hard-boiled detective novels written between 1929 and 1934 - [classic stories](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1883011671/qid=1127262989/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-4342937-8724154) that are a must read.) During the years he wrote those novels, Dashiell Hammett lived in San Francisco, New York City, and Hollywood. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ixnay-on-the-iglatinpay/322566/19 "2005-09-21T01:49:43Z")
> [@lizardling](#): > > To scram is 50’s slang? :eek: The things I learn reading the Dope… No, not really. Scram goes back much further, and “amscray” is cited from at least 1934. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ixnay-on-the-iglatinpay/322566/20 "2005-09-21T02:03:11Z")
> [@Arnold Winkelried](#): > > [This website](http://plateaupress.com.au/wfw/eightysix.htm) says that “nix” originally comes from “eighty-six”. Not really. Evan, at the time, was trying to relate “nix” with “eighty-six.” But he didn’t say that “nix” comes from “eighty-six.” “Nix” as a word appears around 1800. As a variant of the German “nichts.” Ixnay is first cited in 1929. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ixnay-on-the-iglatinpay/322566.md?page=2)