• X
adj. 1. 1962 UK sl. – annoyed, irritated, angry, cross
adj. 2. 1970 US sl. – in drag racing: experimental
n. 1. 1837 US colloq. – a ten-dollar note
n. 2. M19 sl. – a method of arrest whereby a policeman grasps the villain’s collar and holds their arm in such a way that the more they struggle, the more likely it is for the arm to be broken
n. 3. 1920s US prison sl. – an ex-convict
n. 4. 1946 US sl. – an empty railway wagon
n. 5. 1950s W. Indies sl. – the accelerator on a car
n. 6. 1950s US drug culture sl. – an injection
n. 7. 1974 US sl. – a grip on all illegal gambling
n. 8. 1988 US drug culture sl. – MDMA; any MDMA tablet stamped with a symbol that may be read as X
n. 9. 1990s drug culture sl. – marijuana
n. 10. 1991 US sl. – in blackjack: any card worth ten points
n. 11. 1997 Can. sl. – a crossbreed of a dog
n. 12. 20C US sl. – a toilet or privy
vb. 1. 1950s Aust. & US college sl. – to stop, to eliminate
vb. 2. 1985 US drug culture sl. – to take MDMA
• THE X
n. 1980 US sl. – in the circus or carnival: exclusive rights for an item or concession
• X AMOUNT
n. 1980s US sl. – a very large amount
• XANTHIPPE
n. 1596 – the name of the wife of Socrates; hence, an ill-tempered woman or wife; a shrew, a scold
• XANTHOCOMIC
adj. 1861 nonce word – yellow-haired
• XANTIPPE
n. 1596 – the wife of Socrates; hence, an ill-tempered woman or wife; a shrew; a scold
• X-CAT
n. 2000s US prison sl. – an inmate who is in need of mental health care
• X-DOUBLE-MINUS
adj. 1968 US sl. – very bad
• X-DRESSING
n. 2003 UK sl. – cross-dressing
• X’ED OUT
adj. 1970s African-American sl. – used of something that, while once important, is no longer relevant
• XENAGOGUE
n. 1570-6 obs. – one who conducts strangers; a guide
• XENAGOGY
n. 1583 – conduction of strangers; used as the title of a guide-book, as the Xenagogy of America
• XENIAL
adj. 1869 – of the nature of or pert. to a friendly relation between two persons of different countries, or between a person and a foreign country
• XENIZATION
n. 1818 – the fact of sojourning as a stranger
• XENODOCHIAL
adj. 1716 obs. rare – given to receiving strangers; friendly to strangers; hospitable
• XENODOCHIE
n. 1623 obs. rare – entertainment of strangers; hospitality
• XENODOCHION
n. 1865 – a house of reception for strangers and pilgrims; a hostel, a guest-house, esp. in a monastery
• XENODOCHIUM
n. 1612 – a house of reception for strangers and pilgrims; a hostel, a guest-house, esp. in a monastery
• XENODOCHY
n. 1. c1540 obs. rare – a house of reception for strangers and pilgrims; a hostel, a guest-house, esp. in a monastery
n. 2. 1623 obs. rare – entertainment of strangers; hospitality
• XENOMANIA
n. 1879 – a mania or insane fancy for foreigners, or for things foreign
• XENOMANIAC
n. 1879 – a person having an insane fancy for foreigners or for something foreign
• XENOPHILISM
n. 1912 – love of foreigners or of something foreign
• XENOPHOBIC
adj. 1912 – afraid of foreigners or of something foreign
• XENOPHOBY
n. 1909 – fear of foreigners or of something foreign
• X-ER
n. 1990s US sl. – a member of Generation X
• XEROFAGY
n. 1671 – the eating of dry food, esp. as a form of fasting practised in the early church
• XEROPHAGY
n. 1656 – the eating of dry food, esp. as a form of fasting practised in the early church
• XEROX
vb. 1. 1960s US college sl. – to cheat on a test
vb. 2. 1990s African-American sl. – to copy, to imitate
• XEROX COPY
n. 1950s Aust. rhyming sl. – a Remembrance Day poppy
• XEROX QUEEN
n. 1960s US homosexual sl. – a man who prefers all his sexual partners to resemble each other
• XESTURGY
n. 1592 obs. rare – the process of polishing
• X-FILES
n. 1998 UK rhyming sl. for ‘piles’ – haemorrhoids
• X-FILES E
n. 1996 UK sl. – a table of MDMA, branded with a borrowed logo
• XILINOUS
adj. 1656 obs. rare – of cotton
• X-ING
n. 1980s US drug culture sl. – experiencing MDMA
• XIPPIE
n. 1990s sl. – modern young person who wishes to adopt the lifestyle of the hippies of the 1960s
• XKE
n. 1980s African-American sl. – the Jaguar XKE automobile
• X.L.
n. M20 US sl. – ‘ex-lady’ friend; a former lady friend
• X-MAN
n. 1990s UK juvenile sl. – a male homosexual
• X MARKS THE SPOT
phr. 1813 sl. – used as a caption or legend to a specific location (marked with a cross) on a map or in a photograph
• XMAS
n. 1755 UK – Christmas; pronounced ‘Exmas’
• X OUT
vb. 1. 1970s African-American sl. – to dismiss something as no longer important or relevant African-American sl.
vb. 2. 1980s US drug culture sl. – to experience MDMA
• X QUEEN
n. 1994 US sl. – a homosexual male who is a frequent user of MDMA
• Xr
n. 1614 obs. – abbreviation of December
• X-RAY
vb. 1950s African-American sl. – to look at something or someone closely; to watch closely, to stare at
• X-RAY DRESS
n. 1920s US sl. – a translucent dress
• X-RAY EYES
n. 1988 US sl. – the sense of intuition of poker player who can ascertain the hands held by other players
• X-ROW
n. 1992 US sl. – the area in a prison housing inmates condemned to death
• X’S
n. M19 sl. – expenses
• Xs AND Os
n. 1984 US sl. – the basic elements of a plan
• XTC
n. 1985 drug culture sl. – MDMA
• X VID
n. 1992 US sl. – a sexually explicit video
• XX
n. 1. 1883 US colloq. – a twenty-dollar note
n. 2. 1930s US sl. – a betrayal, double-cross
• X.Y.L.
n. 1. 1976 US sl. – a wife; ‘ex-young-lady’
n. 2. 20C sl. – an ‘ex-young lady’; a former girlfriend or wife
• XY
n. 1976 US sl. – a spouse
• XYLOGRAPH
n. 1854 – an engraving on wood, esp. one of the early period
• XYLOGRAPHIST
n. 1864 – a wood-engraver, esp. of the early period
• XYLOGRAPHY
n. 1816 – wood-engraving, esp. of the early period or of a primitive kind; also, printing from wood blocks as distinct from type
• XYLOPOLIST
n. 1656 – a timber-merchant
• X.Y.M.
n. 1976 US sl.- a husband; ‘ex-young-man’
• X.Y.Z.
phr. 20C US sl. – ‘examine your zipper’; telling a man that he has forgotten to zip up his trousers
• XYZ
n. 1. 1808 – an unknown quantity; something or somebody unknown or undetermined
n. 2. 1950s drug culture sl. – an infected lesion that results from injecting with an improvised syringe
n. 3. 1976 US sl. – a citizens’ band user of undiscovered gender; hence, a homosexual
Back to INDEX XYZ
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Updated: February 27, 2023
Lexicophilia 