The Devil's Dictionary/X

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< The Devil's Dictionary

X in our alphabet being a needless letter has an added invincibility to the attacks of the spelling reformers, and like them, will
doubtless last as long as the language. X is the sacred symbol of ten dollars, and in such words as Xmas, Xn, etc., stands for
Christ, not, as is popular supposed, because it represents a cross, but because the corresponding letter in the Greek alphabet is
the initial of his name -- _Xristos_. If it represented a cross it would stand for St. Andrew, who "testified" upon one of that
shape. In the algebra of psychology x stands for Woman's mind. Words beginning with X are Grecian and will not be defined in
this standard English dictionary.

Listings

Ambrose Bierce (1906) The Devil's Dictionary

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

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This page was last edited on 16 April 2012, at 03:35.

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