zzxjoanw
Sign in to savethumb|The original fictitious entry from 1903 __NOTOC__ Zzxjoanw ( ) is a fictitious entry in an encyclopedia which fooled logologists for many years. It referred to a purported Māori word meaning "drum", "fife", or "conclusion".
~3 min read
Encyclopedic overview
6 sectionsContents
- Origin
- Analysis and discovery as likely hoax
- See also
- References
- Bibliography
- External links
thumb|The original fictitious entry from 1903 __NOTOC__ Zzxjoanw ( ) is a fictitious entry in an encyclopedia which fooled logologists for many years. It referred to a purported Māori word meaning "drum", "fife", or "conclusion".
==Origin== In 1903, author Rupert Hughes published The Musical Guide, an encyclopedia of classical music. Among its many sections was a "pronouncing and defining dictionary of terms, instruments, etc." The dictionary, 252 pages in all, explained the meaning and gave the pronunciation of German, Italian, and other non-English words found in the terminology of classical music. At the end of the dictionary, immediately following the entry for (German for cymbal), Hughes added the following definition:
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