, is an old reporters shorthand which means end of  story. It is also the title of a 1959 Jack Webb (qv) movie about a  day in the life of a Los Angeles newspaper. It is always written  with hyphens fore and aft. Its origin has been attributed to the  early days of telegraphy, when XXX (which is 30 in Roman numerals)  signified "end of message." Whatever its origin, the use was  established around the time of the Civil War. Since it was  originally intended as an instruction to typesetters, its appearance  has declined since the advent of computerized typesetting.