I was once told the word that means "x's for eyes", as in depictions
of drunken or deceased characters. Alas, I have forgotten it, and it
is driving me mad. I would like the word, please, and if found online,
the link to the reference.

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Clarification of Question by robzilla-ga on 10 Oct 2002 00:24 PDT

If it helps any, I have in my fruitless searches for an answer come
across references to "stitched eyes", which due to the resemblance of
the 'X' depiction may be the genesis of this word (it may not, no wild
google chase intended).

I'm still working on this question but I found a small clue that may
help at least with part of the question.  Check out this website and
scroll down near the bottom where the person is talking about the
novel "Travis Mcgee", I think you might find it interesting.  I'll
post anything else I find.  Hope this helps.

http://www.212.net/wings.htm

I have a book (which I cannot, unfortunately, access at work) called
"What's What" which lists the technical names for various parts of
everything, from fighter planes to hiking boots. One of the sections
covers the various iconographical squiggles and marks that convey
meaning in a cartoon, such as the wiggle-lines that "running feet"
make in a comic strip, the anonymous symbols that indicate a swear in
a word balloon, etc. The book also lists the term for the crossed-eyes
to indicate an unconscious, drunk, or dead person. If I get home
before this question is answered, I will look it up in this book. If
any other researcher happens to have this book on his or her shelf, by
all means, go for it.

Thanks to smudgy-ga I located a copy of the book and it does indeed
have a page and I think the answer is there.  It shows a picture of a
drunk man with "x's in his eyes" and the word "Oculama" next to it.  I
looked up oculama on google, take a look:
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=oculama

It seems to indicate that it means "the art of creating eyes" so I'm
not sure this is correct.  By the way it appears on pages 380-381 of
the book "What's What:A Visual dictionary of the Physical World" by
David Fischer and Reginald Bragonier Jr. 1990.

Wow, you folks are amazing.  Your answers led me to the book, "The
Lexicon of Comicana", by Mort Walker, which is apparently considered
the terminology bible.  Is it in your researching ability to have
someone look it up in this book as well?

I can let you know which libraries own the book:

                     IL   SUBURBAN LIBR SYST 
                                                                  

                     AL   AUBURN UNIV 
                                                                   

                     ID    BOISE STATE UNIV 


                     IN   INDIANA COOP LIBR SERV AUTH 
                                                                     

                     KY  NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIV 


                     MI   MICHIGAN STATE UNIV 
                                                                     

                     MO  UNIV OF MISSOURI, COLUMBIA 
                                                                     
                     NY    SUNY COL AT ONEONTA 

                     NY    SYRACUSE UNIV 


                     OH   OHIO STATE UNIV, THE 
                                                                    
                     OH   PUBLIC LIBR OF CINCINNATI/HAMILTON CNTY 

                     OH   UNIV OF AKRON 
                                                                    
                     OH    UPPER ARLINGTON PUB LIBR 


                     OR   EUGENE PUB LIBR 
                                                                    
                     OR   UNIV OF OREGON LIBR 


                     PA   UNIV OF PENNSYLVANIA 
                                                                    
                     PA   UNIV OF THE ARTS 
                                                                

                     WA  TWIN RIVER CORR CTR LIBR 
                                                                    

                     WI  LA CROSSE PUB LIBR 

Basically you can contact the libraries or find their individual
websites. Also your home library can obtain the book through an
Interlibrary loan.

Also available at Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0940420007/qid=1034281042/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/103-2250911-2354218?v=glance&n=507846

I'm very satisfied at this point, but don't one of you two have to
"answer" the question from your side in order to finish the process
and receive some ratings?

What I mean is, I can't start that process on my end, can I?

Gosh, folks, don'tcha want my money?  Somebody cut & paste one of the
comments into the answer box and I'll approve it ... please!  You did
very well, and I'm satisfied.