ZZXJOANW Entry: A Musical Hoax

Rupert Hughes, a lexicographer, included an unusual entry, ZZXJOANW, in the Music-Lovers Encyclopedia, claiming it was a Maori word pronounced 'Shaw,' meaning 'Drum' or 'Fife.' Despite staying in the encyclopedia for 70 years, it was later realized that Maori lacks Z and X, and words end with a vowel. The entry, now acknowledged as a hoax, has sparked theories about the possibility that Hughes encoded a message, such as sending kisses to someone named Joan Shaw.