History Main / BriffitsAndSqueans

'''[[SymbolSwearing Grawlixes]]:''' Indicating swearing with non-alphanumeric characters such as stars, angry scribbles, storm clouds (sometimes complete with lightning bolts), swirls, large exclamation points, and skulls. Machine-lettered comics will often just use keyboard characters. Walker identified a number of distinct types based on specific symbols, such as '''jarns''' (curved or angled spirals), '''quimps''' (astronomical objects), '''nittles''' (stars and asterisks) and true grawlixes (scribbles suggesting scrawled writing). NotToBeConfused with those brutes from ''VideoGame/HeavyMetalFAKK2''

'''[[SymbolSwearing Grawlixes]]:''' Indicating swearing with non-alphanumeric characters such as stars, angry scribbles, storm clouds (sometimes complete with lightning bolts), swirls, large exclamation points, and skulls. Machine-lettered comics will often just use keyboard characters. Walker identified a number of distinct types based on specific symbols, such as '''jarns''' (curved or angled spirals), '''quimps''' (astronomical objects), '''nittles''' (stars and asterisks) and true grawlixes (scribbles suggesting scrawled writing).

'''Hites:''' Horizontal lines that trail behind fast-moving characters to indicate motion. Usually come in pairs. A variation is up-hites, which are vertical and appear above a falling object or character.

'''Vites:''' Vertical lines placed on bodies of ice to indicate reflectiveness. Often placed directly under a character and filled with whatever color the character is. Not to be confused with up-hites.

'''[[SymbolSwearing Grawlixes]]:''' Indicating swearing with non-alphanumeric characters such as stars, angry scribbles, storm clouds (sometimes complete with lightning bolts), swirls, large exclamation points, and skulls. Machine-lettered comics will often just use keyboard characters.

'''Indotherm:''' Squiggly lines placed over an object to indicate radiant heat. May also appear above the head of an extremely irritated character.

'''[[VisibleOdor Wafterons]]:''' Squiggly solid shapes that taper to a point on both ends, used to indicate strong odors, either positive or negative (the former typically filled with white, the latter with a sickly green). Warm food items (like a pie cooling on the windowsill) will typically have small wafterons in place of indotherms to indicate both heat ''and'' odor.

'''Solrads:''' Lines proceeding from a light source.

'''Emanata:''' Visually identical to solrads, they surround a character's head to indicate surprise or shock.

'''Lucaflects:''' Thinly-outlined shapes placed on shiny surfaces to indicate reflectiveness. Often takes the form of a four-paneled window, most commonly on TV screens.

'''Blurgits:''' Parenthesis-shaped symbols used to indicate less intense movement, such as a nudge, shoulders shrugging, or slow walking (in a waist-up shot).

'''Agitrons:''' Similar in function to blurgits, longer wiggly lines around something that is shaking or vibrating.

'''Surprisles:''' See '''Emanata'''.

'''Swivles:''' A curved version of '''hites''' used to indicate turning.

'''Sweatles:''' See '''Plewds'''.

'''Zipples:''' '''Up-hites''' indicating upward motion.

'''Boozles:''' See '''Squeans'''. In the comic, they're [[FrothyMugsOfWater "root boozles"]] since Milo isn't old enough to drink.

'''Cranial Smoke:''' See second definition of '''Indotherm''' ("Carcinogenic if inhaled").

[[quoteright:305:[[Literature/TheLexiconOfComicana https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/briffits_and_squeans_416.jpg]]]]

'''[[SymbolSwearing Grawlixes]]:''' Indicating swearing with symbols like stars, angry scribbles, storm clouds (sometimes complete with lightning bolts), swirls, large exclamation points, and skulls. Machine-lettered comics will often just use keyboard characters.

[[quoteright:305:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/briffits_and_squeans_416.jpg]]

'''[[AnimeSweatDrop Plewds]]:''' Drops of sweat emanating from the character's head to indicate nervousness, stress, or working hard.

'''[[AnimeSweatDrop Pleads]]:''' Drops of sweat emanating from the character's head to indicate nervousness, stress, or working hard.

'''Grawlixes:''' SymbolSwearing. Traditionally includes symbols like stars, angry scribbles, storm clouds (sometimes complete with lightning bolts), swirls, large exclamation points, and skulls. Machine-lettered comics will often just use keyboard characters.

'''Plewds:''' Drops of sweat emanating from the character's head to indicate nervousness, stress, or working hard.

'''Squeans:''' Bubbles and open asterisks (popped bubbles) that appear over a drunk or sick character's head.

'''Wafterons:''' Squiggly solid shapes that taper to a point on both ends, [[VisibleOdor used to indicate strong odors]], either positive or negative (the former typically filled with white, the latter with a sickly green). Warm food items (like a pie cooling on the windowsill) will typically have small wafterons in place of indotherms to indicate both heat ''and'' odor.

-->--'''Berke Breathed'''

'''Wafterons:''' Squiggly solid shapes that taper to a point on both ends, used to indicate strong odors, either positive or negative (the former typically filled with white, the latter with a sickly green). Warm food items (like a pie cooling on the windowsill) will typically have small wafterons in place of indotherms to indicate both heat ''and'' odor.

In a ''BloomCounty'' Sunday strip for August 5, 1987, Berke Breathed came up with alternate names for some of the above terms, still popular today. In the order they appeared:

Mort Walker of ''BeetleBailey'' and ''HiAndLois'' fame is also credited with creating a bunch of nonsense words for the shorthand symbols used in NewspaperComics. In 1980 he released a book called ''The Lexicon of Comicana'' that listed and defined all of these terms. Many of the terms were adopted by other cartoonists, and even incorporated into cartooning how-to books, although those of us outside the industry (or just preferring to not sound crazy) will usually still use expressions like "dust clouds" and "motion lines".

->"As can be seen, without proper familiarity with the graphic symbols, a comic sequence such as this would make no sense whatsoever. Lord knows, we don't want that." --Berke Breathed.

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'''Surprisles:''' see '''Emanata'''

'''Moovles:''' see '''Blurgists'''

'''Sweatles:''' see '''Plewds'''

'''Poofles:''' see '''Briffits'''

'''Boozles:''' see '''Squeans'''. In the comic, they're [[FrothyMugsOfWater "root boozles"]] since Milo isn't old enough to drink.

'''Cranial Smoke:''' see second definition of '''Indotherm''' ("Carcinogenic if inhaled")

Not all those phenomena are comic-exclusive. Some of these can also be found in cartoons and other media.

Mort Walker of ''BeetleBailey'' and ''HiAndLois'' fame is also credited with creating a bunch of nonsense words for the shorthand symbols used in NewspaperComics. In 1980 he released a book called ''The Lexicon of Comicana'' that listed and defined all of these terms. Many of the terms were adopted by other cartoonists, and even incorporated into cartooning how-to books, although those of us outside the industry (or just preferring to not sound crazy) will usually still use expressions like "dust clouds" and "motion lines". This is a list of some of the more well known ones: