ixnay

English

Alternative forms

ix-nay

Etymology

Pig Latin version of nix; possibly the only Pig Latin phrase to enter common American English besides amscray. Ixnay and amscray were used widely in The Three Stooges shorts, possibly the main source of popularity for the words.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɪksˌneɪ/
Audio (US) (file)
Rhymes: -ɪksneɪ

Interjection

ixnay

No.

Noun

ixnay (uncountable)

(slang) Nothing; nix; often in the phrase "ixnay on ...", indicating something that must not be mentioned, often in Pig Latin
Ixnay on the "W-A-L-K" while the dogs can hear you.
- 1995 May 7, Mark Kirkland, “The Springfield Connection”, in The Simpsons, season 6, episode 23:
  Homer Simpson: Being a cop husband is one mighty sweet deal. This police radio entertains me with other people's miseries, we get a free funeral for Marge (god forbid), and I can run background checks on whomever I want . . . Mohammar.
  Moe Szyslak: Homer, please, please! Ixnay on the ohammar-May!
- 2007 January 29, Dan Shive, El Goonish Shive (webcomic), Comic for Monday, Jan 29, 2007:
  "Ixnay on the ay-geth...way! I'm only 'out' to my closest friends! It can't get back to my family!"

Verb

ixnay (third-person singular simple present ixnays, present participle ixnaying, simple past and past participle ixnayed)

(slang, transitive) To reject something.
- 2009, Kathleen Kaska, Murder at the Arlington, Salvo Press, →ISBN:
  If I wasn't so bored out of my mind, I would have ixnayed that idea.
- 2013, Gervich Chad, How to Manage Your Agent: A Writer’s Guide to Hollywood Representation, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 295:
  Personally, I'd rather feel momentarily bummed when my agent ixnays a two-paragraph idea than totally crushed when she ixnays a 110-page screenplay it took six months to perfect.
- 2015, Angelina Mirabella, The Sweetheart: A Novel, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 158:
  You didn't want to ask for a handout—you have a vague memory of him ixnaying advances when you signed your contract—but you don't have much choice.

Related terms

nix