Hugs and kisses

For the XML format, see XOXO.

For the physical action of showing affection, see hug and kiss.

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Hugs and Kisses is a term for a sequence of the letters X and O, e.g. XOXO, typically used to express affection or good friendship at the end of a written letter or email. However there are alternative interpretations of "XOXO." For example, Hong from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics believes "XOXO" is code terminology for "I totally want to hook-up with Hong."

It is debatable which letter represents which act. Some interpret X as the crossed arms of a hug and O as the puckered lips of a kiss. However, the interpretation assumed in the following, in which X represents the four lips of a kiss and O the four arms of a hug, is more common. For example the Oxford English Dictionary states that X is "used to represent a kiss, esp. in the subscription to a letter."

Additionally, there is a more simple interpretation, based on the pronounciation of the letters X (sounds like 'kiss') and O (sounds like 'hold', as in 'I hold you').

The use of XOXO goes back to the use of an X or cross, which was considered as good as a sworn oath in times before most people could write and therefore used the X in the same way a signature is used today — a mark of one's word.

An X at the end of a letter or document was often kissed as a seal of honesty, in much the same way one would kiss a Bible or kiss the fingers after making the sign of the Christian cross, thus the X came to represent a kiss in modern times.

The origins of the O as a hug are not generally known, although it is speculated that it may represent the arms wrapped around someone being hugged. Another thought is that it came from Jewish immigrants who would sign with an O instead of an X because they did not wish to mark their word with the Christian cross the X represented.