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Emoticons :) and Acronyms |
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Written by Oscar Sodani
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Saturday, 08 March 2003 |
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Happens to everyone: you are communicating by e-mail, or in a chat room, and you see something like this :-P What does it mean? What you just saw was an emoticon, and it serves as a way to quickly express feelings using keys on the keyboard to represent a face or emotion. Here is a list of common emoticons.
Communication is a major part of why the Internet is popular. Emoticons and acronyms are used by a large percentage of the net-savvy. Don't get left out of the conversation! In this article, you will learn: - What emoticons are
- Common emoticons and their meaning
- Common acronyms and shorthand used in e-mail and chat conversations
You Made Me Smile :) An emoticon is just a simple drawing of a face, using two or three keyboard characters. The trick is that you need to tilt your head to the left to recognize what it is. The colon ":" character represents the eyes. The parentheses ")" character in the :) emoticon represents a smiling mouth. Together, the two characters :) represent a smiling or happy person. Below we list the most commonly used emoticons, along with what they mean. To help you visualize them, we've also included an image for each one that better shows the emotion it is representing. | Emoticon | Meaning | Right-side up | | :) :-) | A smiling or happy person | 
| | :( :-( | A sad person |  | | :P :-P | Sticking tongue out |  | | :| :-| | Mad | | | ;) ;-) | Winking | | | 8) 8-) | Surprised | | | :D :-D | Laughing | | | :O :-O | Wow! | | :-* | A kiss | | | :-X :-T | My lips are sealed/ Tight-lipped | | %-) | Up all night / very tired | | | Acronyms Now that you know all the major emoticons, it is time to learn some of the quick abbreviations used in e-mail and chat communication. | | brb | I'll be right back | | btw | By the way, | | cya | See you later (See ya!) | | | Grin | | imho | In my humble opinion, | | l8r | See you later (Later!) | | lol | Laugh out loud | | oic | Oh, I see | | rotfl | I am rolling on the floor laughing | | sup | What's up? (Hello) | | thx | Thanks | | tia | Thanks in advance | | ttyl | Talk to you later | | tx | Thanks | | wb | Welcome back | | wtf | What the ****? | | wtg | Way to go! | There you have it! Everything you need to communicate online without getting completely lost in the conversation. There are literally hundred of emoticons and acronyms that have been created, but in our experience, these are the only ones that are universally used and understood. Now go out there and chat like a pro! | |