x-word

English

Noun

x-word (plural x-words)

1. The word xenophobia.
   • 2011 July 4, Kathleen Chaykowski, “Avoiding the X word — Jo’burg responds to refugees”, in Mail & Guardian‎^[1]:

     The “X word[”] / Although the conference extensively referred to the nation’s need for “social cohesion” among migrants and South Africans, the word “xenophobia” was almost never uttered during the two-day affair.

   • 2014 June 27, Michael Y.P. Ang, The Independent‎^[2]:

     Before one uses the X-word to describe people with less-liberal views on immigration, one should recall its meaning – an extreme or irrational dislike or fear of people from other countries.

   • 2016 June 25, @BlissTabitha, Twitter‎^[3]:

     Bitter NY Times Throws Around X-Word (Xenophobia), Threat of Violence to Insult Pro-Brexit

   • 2019 April 7, “Editorial: Xenophobia – Call it by its name”, in City Press‎^[4]:

     In the past fortnight, following a fresh outbreak of xenophobic violence in Durban, President Cyril Ramaphosa condemned the “violence against foreign nationals in South Africa”, without mentioning the x-word.

   • 2020 December 24, @NoGamesOnNotice, Twitter‎^[5]:

     I hope they use my classic thread of REAL xenophobia OUTSIDE of the USA, since the X-word is thrown around like bread at pigeons.

2. Abbreviation of crossword.
   • 2003, “From the Flowery Couch”, in Eurinda‎^[6], page 325:

     After Dieter got up from solving his Stern-Xword puzzle―I was hanging over his shoulders ... in order to fill some ... spaces in the crossword puzzle[.]

   • 2005 October 23, Colin Dexter, “How to solve crosswords”, in The Guardian‎^[7]:

     So while this week's column may be a bit tedious, it may also lay the basis for a vital part of x-word preparation (prep).

3. (grammar) One of a group of fundamental English auxiliary or modal verb forms.
   • 1969, Jacqueline Griffin, “Remedial Composition at an Open-Door College”, in College Composition and Communication, volume 20, number 5, →JSTOR, page 361:

     To change a statement into a question that can be answered “yes” or “no,” one must place an X-word (one of twenty-three auxiliaries or modals) at the beginning of the sentence.

   • 1977, Linda Ann Kunz, “X-word Grammar: Offspring of Sector Analysis”, in Journal of Basic Writing, volume 1, number 3, →JSTOR, page 68:

     The only five x-words that offer any choice of verb form are am, is, are, was and were, and this very limited choice represents the important difference between active and passive voice, for example is eating versus is eaten.

   • 2018, Sue Livingston et al., “Effect of X-Word Grammar and Traditional Grammar Instruction on Grammatical Accuracy”, in English Language Teaching, volume 11, number 3, →DOI, page 121:

     Past time X-words are did, had, was, were; […]

Alternative forms

• (crossword): xword

See also

• (‘x’-word euphemisms) a-word, b-word, c-word, d-word, e-word, f-word, g-word / G-word, h-word, i-word, j-word, k-word, l-word, m-word, n-word, o-word, p-word, q-word / Q-word, r-word, s-word, t-word, u-word, v-word, w-word, x-word, y-word, z-word; see also C-bomb, f-bomb, f-slur, L-bomb, n-bomb, Q-slur, r-slur
• xword puzzle