Emoticons (emotional icons) are used to compensate for the inability to convey voice inflections, facial expressions, and bodily gestures in written communication. Some emoticons are better known as "smileys." Emoticons can be very effective toward avoiding misinterpretation of the writer's intents. While there are no standard definitions for the following emoticons, we have supplied their most usual meanings. Most emoticons will look like a face (eyes, nose, and mouth) when rotated 90 degree clockwise.

:) or :-) Expresses happiness, sarcasm, or joke
:( or :-( Expresses unhappiness
:] or :-] Expresses jovial happiness
:[ or :-[ Expresses despondent unhappiness
:D or :-D Expresses jovial happiness
:I or :-I Expresses indifference
:-/ or :-\ Indicates undicided, confused, or skeptical. Also :/ or :\.
:Q or :-Q Expresses confusion
:S or :-S Expresses incoherence or loss of words
:@ or :-@ Expresses shock or screaming
:O or :-O Indicates surprise, yelling or realization of an error ("uh oh!")

Acronyms

AAMOF as a matter of fact
BBFN bye bye for now
BFN bye for now
BTW by the way
BYKT but you knew that
CMIIW correct me if I'm wrong
EOL end of lecture
FAQ frequently asked question(s)
FITB fill in the blank
FWIW for what it's worth
FYI for your information
HTH hope this helps
IAC in any case
IAE in any event
ICL in Christian love
IMCO in my considered opinion
IMHO in my humble opinion
IMNSHO in my not so humble opinion
IMO in my opinion
IOW in other words
LOL lots of luck or laughing out loud
MGB may God bless
MHOTY my hat's off to you
NRN no reply necessary
OIC oh, I see
OTOH on the other hand
ROF rolling on the floor
ROFL rolling on the floor laughing
ROTFL rolling on the floor laughing
RSN real soon now
SITD still in the dark
TIA thanks in advance
TIC tongue in cheek
TTYL talk to you later
TYVM thank you very much
WYSIWYG what you see is what you get

Grinning
Joking
Laughing
Smiling
Yawning

SKIP