Censored and unknown words
Reviewed conventions, examples, and the sources behind them.
The checks below catch specific patterns in your text. They support your review; passing them does not verify every part of a convention.
Transcribe the explicit version
Censored words (opens in a new tab) Use four asterisks for a censored word. Verified 2026-08-12. A transcription follows the explicit version of a song, so a censor mask belongs only where the recording itself censors the word — which even explicit versions occasionally do.
A censored word is four asterisks
Censored words (opens in a new tab) Use four asterisks for a censored word. Verified 2026-08-12. A word the recording censors out is written as exactly four asterisks, however many letters the word has and however much of it survives the censor.
Keep that **** away from me
Exceptions and context
The linter flags letters mixed into an asterisk mask; a bare asterisk run could as easily be a divider or emphasis, so its length is the transcriber's to check.
What LyricLint checks
A censor mask that is not four stars
Flagged example [Verse] f*** this
This mixes letters with an asterisk mask. Confirm before replacing the entire censored-word candidate so no partial spelling remains.
Accepted by this check [Verse] **** this
A lyric you can't make out is [?]
Unknown lyric marker (opens in a new tab) Use [?] for unknown lyrics. Verified 2026-08-17. A lyric nobody can decipher yet is represented by a question mark in brackets — [?] — and only that form: parentheses are avoided because they already mark ad-libs on Genius.
Counting every (?) till the morning comes
Counting every [?] till the morning comes
Exceptions and context
The linter checks the whole convention: recognized nonstandard markers, improvised runs of question marks standing where words would go, and a count of the [?] marks a document still leaves unresolved.
What LyricLint checks
A near-miss of the [?] marker
Flagged example [Verse] I heard (?)
This is an exact recognized unknown marker, so replacing only the marker is mechanically safe.
Accepted by this check [Verse] I heard [?]
A run of question marks for a lyric
Flagged example [Verse] I heard ??? tonight
A bare run of question marks is the transcriber's own placeholder rather than a marker anyone recognizes, and the same characters can be deliberate punctuation — so the replacement is offered for review instead of applied mechanically.
Accepted by this check [Verse] I heard [?] tonight
A [?] left in the finished lyric
Flagged example [Verse] I heard [?]
Aim to transcribe all audible lyrics. Use [?] only when careful listening still cannot determine what is being sung.
Accepted by this check [Verse] I heard every word