When I run rxvt& (Rxvt v2.7.10 - released: 26 MARCH 2003) [which seems old, but is the version that ships with Fedora Core 24], I get an rxvt window with a font I find ugly. When I do rxvt -font x however, I get the error message rxvt: can't load font x, but then get an rxvt window with a slightly smaller font that I really like. What unholy magic is this and how can I do the same thing without getting an error? I do have rxvt mentioned in some of my .x* files, but nothing that mentions fonts: In .Xdefaults, I have:  rxvt*background:        grey rxvt*foreground:        black rxvt*saveLines:         100 rxvt*geometry:          80x53 In .Xresources, I have:  rxvt*background:        grey rxvt*foreground:        black rxvt*saveLines:         60 In .fvwm2rc, I have:  Style rxvt        Icon term.xpm, SloppyFocus, IconBox -70 1 -1 -140 Style rxvt        MWMBorder, MWMButtons This is the file I suspect the most, but I don't see anything mentioning font. NOTE: this has been bugging me for the last 20 years. 
Why does rxvt -font x give me an error, but a better font than plain rxvt?
fonts;rxvt