Klryz
Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings

Vowels

iːseeɪsite / ɛbedæcat
ɑːfatherɒhot (UK)ɔːlawʊput
uːtooʌcupɜːbirdəabout
eɪdayaɪmyɔɪboyaʊnow
əʊ / oʊgo (UK / US)ɪəneareəhairʊətour

Consonants that look unusual

θthinðthisʃsheʒmeasure
tʃchurchdʒjudgeŋsingjyes

p b t d k g f v s z h m n l r w sound as in ordinary English spelling.

Marks

  • ˈ main stress, before the stressed syllable: /ˈwɔːtə/ water · ˌ lighter (secondary) stress: /ˌʌndəˈstænd/ understand
  • ː a long vowel · (r) an r said only in accents that pronounce it (most American, Scottish, Irish)

Common word endings

  • -s / -es (plurals; he/she form of verbs): /s/ after voiceless sounds (cats), /z/ after voiced (dogs), /ɪz/ after s, z, sh, ch, j sounds (buses, watches). Spelling: -es after s, x, z, ch, sh; consonant + y → -ies (city → cities).
  • -ed (past): /t/ after voiceless sounds (walked), /d/ after voiced (played), /ɪd/ after t or d (wanted). Spelling: love → loved, stop → stopped, carry → carried.
  • -ing: make → making, run → running, see → seeing.
  • Irregular: go, went, gone · be, was, been · see, saw, seen · man → men · child → children · mouse → mice.
  • Older (King James) forms: -eth = -s (he loveth = he loves) · -est with “thou” (thou lovest) · spake = spoke.

English Dictionary · 107,383 entries · Sources & licences

xxx

UK /ˌʔɛks.ʔɛksˈʔɛks/ · US /ɛ.ksɛ.ksɛks/ noun, adjective, verb

Also a form of thirty

Forms XXXes XXXing XXXed XXXs

  1. noun An abbreviation for kisses, usually placed at the end of a letter or text message, often alongside ooo (hugs).
  2. adjective Extreme or hardcore pornography; or, less strictly, any pornographic content.
  3. adjective Extra strong; very high quality.
  4. verb (uncommon, transitive) To delete; to cross out, especially to conceal or suggest vulgar language.
  5. noun (medicine, rare) Triple X syndrome.
  6. noun (obsolete) The conventional Morse code call made when in an urgent situation but not in immediate distress.
  7. adjective (on government documents) Unknown eye or hair color.
  8. adjective (on government documents) Bald.

Synonyms

pornographic 18+ adult dirty NSFW vulgar X-rated 47, XXX triple X syndrome trisomy X XXX syndrome BAL thirty 30

Etymology

1969 (see quotations). Reduplication of X (“an age rating denoting content suitable for adults”), in reference to the X rating introduced by the Motion Picture Association of America on 1 November 1968 for films containing extreme violence, heavily implied (originally softcore) sex and obscene language. Film posters began to include multiple exes (but skipping two) in order to imply even more extreme, hardcore content, particularly in relation to pornography (although many actually contained the same content as X-rated films). Compare XXXX. The original X rating was superseded by NC-17 in 1990; see also R-18.

Unknown. Possibly from X, a graphic derivative of the skull and crossbones (“indicator of death”). For other possible explanations, see Beer measurement § Saltire marks on WikipediaWikipedia .

Unknown, but compare ex (“to delete; to cross out”, verb).

From having three X chromosomes (and no Y), or as a clipping of XXX syndrome.

Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “xxx”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details