X's and O's

English

Etymology

Derived from the use of the letters X and O as common stand-ins for other concepts.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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Noun

X's and O's pl (plural only)

1. tic-tac-toe
   • 2011 November 23, Tommy Marks Donily, Gangster Ways‎^[1], page 33:

     Against one wall they had three chickens in three different cages with electric X's and O's to play X's and O's with the chicken. You insert 25 cents and the chicken would peck at an X. It was impossible to beat the chicken, because there was an electrical shock that made the chicken hit the right button.

   • 2016, James Hendler, Alice M. Mulvehill, “The Games We Play”, in Social Machines: The Coming Collision of Artificial Intelligence, Social Networking, and Humanity, New York, NY: Apress, →DOI, →ISBN, page 36:

     Before we can explore computer play at chess, let's start with a much simpler game: the game of tic-tac-toe (also called noughts and crosses, Xs and Os, or exy-ozys). This game is one of the first games that many kids learn.

   • 2022, Deepankar Maitra, “Build Your Own Game with a Simple Algorithm—Tic Tac Toe”, in Beginner's Guide to Code Algorithms: Experiments to Enhance Productivity and Solve Problems, Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, →DOI, →ISBN, page 17:

     Tic Tac Toe has many names in other countries— it is called “Kata Kuti” in the Eastern part of India, “Exy-Ozies” in Ireland, and “Xs and Os” in Zimbabwe!

2. (idiomatic, sports) The fundamental elements of a play.
   • 2006, Jerry Krause, Ralph Pim, Basketball Beyond the X's And O's: Lessons from the Legends:
3. (idiomatic, management) The basic delineation of roles in a project.

Noun

X's and O's pl (plural only)

1. Abbreviation of kisses and hugs.

   Synonym: xoxo

   The college co-ed signed her letter to her mother with X's and O's.