Grawlix may not be a word you are familiar with but you have seen grawlixes (the plural of grawlix) before. Thanks to fellow writer, Jeff White, I am now knowledgeable about this.
The basic definition of grawlix is a sequence of typographical symbols used to represent a non-specific swear word, profane word or phrase. It usually appears something like this: #@$%*!
Mort Walker, an American cartoonist (the creator of “Beetle Bailey” an “Hi and Lois” comics) first used the term.
The term first appeared in his 1964 article called Let’s get down to grawlixes.
Exploring the use, misuse and humor of words 