Triple X

Today's post is brought to you by the letter X. I love x. It's the weirdest, most unknowable, squirrelly letter there is. Even people who try to use it to be cool, like David X Cohen or Maxx Barry, can't diminish its coolness.

X can mean trans (xfer), cross (xing or xed out), Christ (Xmas), or any variable in algebra. The x entry is the shortest entry in the dictionary, but it contains all the most interesting words. X is forbidden (X-rated), it's foreign (xeno-), it sees through you but it's not seeable (X-rays). It's like a star that is brightest in peripheral vision, and vanishes when you stare at it straight on. X is a secret agent leaning against a wall in Diagon Alley and when you look straight at him, he gives you a half-smile and a long slow blink and disappears.