What do :-) and other emoticons mean?
The :-) notation is known as a smiley, and means that
the statement it follows was intended as humor. When you tilt your
head to the side, you see that : is the eyes,
- the optional nose, and
) is the mouth.
This notation is often used in email, text messages, and other postings to communicate emotional context that would otherwise be lost or unclear. A statement meant to be humorous might be found offensive if taken seriously, and thus punctuation such as the smiley is used to avoid misinterpretation.
Many other similar symbols are used to convey emotion; see Wikipedia's List of emoticons. Common ones include:
| Emoticon | Emotion | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| :) or :-) | Happy | This was a joke. |
| ;) or ;-) | Happily winking | I'm pulling your leg. |
| :P or :-P | Sticking out tongue | "Nyahh" or "Bleh". |
| :D or :-D | Open-mouthed grin | I'm delighted! |
| :( or :-( | Unhappy | I'm sad about this. |
| :~( | Crying | I'm VERY sad about this. |
| :-| | Unemotional | I'm less than thrilled. |
| >:-( | Very unhappy | I'm upset! |
| 8-) | Wide-eyed happiness | This surprised me. |
| :-O | Shouting | I'm yelling, and likely upset! |
| 8-O | Wide-eyed shouting | I'm even more upset! |
| >8-O | Mad wide-eyed shouting | Now I'm really angry! |
| |-| | Asleep | Zzzzzz... |
| ==|:-) | Silly | I'm Abraham Lincoln (top hat). |
This is document ablk in domain all.
Last modified on December 02, 2009.
Last modified on December 02, 2009.
