The Unofficial Smiley Dictionary

• Basic Smileys
• Widely used Smileys
• Midget Smileys
• Mega Smileys
• Usenet Smileys
• Emotional Smileys

This "Unofficial Smiley Dictionary" is only one of many different collections by various "editors" you'll come across at many places on the Net, e.g. you can get "The-Smiley-File" from `gopher.world.std.com'; and even a complete booklet has been written on smileys and is available as:

David W. Sanderson (ed.), "Smileys", O'Reilly & Associates,
Sebastopol, CA. 93 pages. ISBN 1-56592-041-4. Price $5.95 (US).

Basic Smileys

• :-) Your basic smiley. This smiley is used to inflect a sarcastic or joking statement since we can't hear voice inflection over e-mail.

• ;-) Winky smiley. User just made a flirtatious and/or sarcastic remark. More of a "don't hit me for what I just said" smiley.

• :-( Frowning smiley. User did not like that last statement or is upset or depressed about something.

• :-I Indifferent smiley. Better than a `:-(' but not quite as good as a `:-)'.

• :-> User just made a really biting sarcastic remark. Worse than a `;-)'.

• >:-> User just made a really devilish remark.

• >;-> Winky and devil combined. A very lewd remark was just made.

Widely used Smileys

• (-: User is left handed.

• %-) User has been staring at a green screen for 15 hours straight.

• :*) User is drunk.

• [:] User is a robot.

• 8-) User is wearing sunglasses.

• B:-) Sunglasses on head.

• ::-) User wears normal glasses.

• B-) User wears horn-rimmed glasses.

• 8:-) User is a little girl.

• :-)-8 User is a Big girl.

• :-{) User has a mustache.

• :-{} User wears lipstick.

• {:-) User wears a toupee.

• }:-( Toupee in an updraft.

• :-[ User is a vampire.

• :-E Bucktoothed vampire.

• :-F Bucktoothed vampire with one tooth missing.

• :-7 User juust made a wry statement.

• :-* User just ate something sour.

• :-)~ User drools.

• :-~) User has a cold.

• :'-( User is crying.

• :'-) User is so happy, s/he is crying.

• :-@ User is screaming.

• :-# User wears braces.

• :^) User has a broken nose.

• :v) User has a broken nose, but it's the other way.

• :_) User's nose is sliding off of his face.

• :<) User is from an Ivy League School.

• :-& User is tongue tied.

• =:-) User is a hosehead.

• -:-) User is a punk rocker.

• -:-( Real punk rockers don't smile.

• :=) User has two noses.

• +-:-) User is the Pope or holds some other religious office.

• `:-) User shaved one of his eyebrows off this morning.

• ,:-) Same thing...other side.

• |-I User is asleep.

• |-O User is yawning/snoring.

• :-Q User is a smoker.

• :-? User smokes a pipe.

• O-) Megaton Man On Patrol! (or else, user is a scuba diver)

• O :-) User is an angel (at heart, at least).

• :-` User spitting out its chewing tobacco.

• :-S User just made an incoherent statement.

• :-D User is laughing (at you!)

• :-X User's lips are sealed.

• :-C User is really bummed.

• <|-) User is Chinese.

• <|-( User is Chinese and doesn't like these kind of jokes.

• :-/ User is skeptical.

• C=:-) User is a chef.

• @= User is pro-nuclear war.

• *<:-) User is wearing a Santa Claus Hat.

• :-o Uh oh!

• (8-o It's Mr. Bill!

• *:o) And Bozo the Clown!

• 3:] Pet smiley.

• 3:[ Mean Pet smiley.

• d8= Your pet beaver is wearing goggles and a hard hat.

• E-:-) User is a Ham radio operator.

• :-9 User is licking his/her lips.

• %-6 User is braindead.

• [:-) User is wearing a walkman.

• (:I User is an egghead.

• <:-I User is a dunce.

• K:P User is a little kid with a propeller beenie.

• @:-) User is wearing a turban.

• :-0 No Yelling! (Quiet Lab)

• :-: Mutant smiley; the invisible smiley.

• .-) User only has one eye.

• ,-) Ditto...but he's winking.

• X-( User just died.

• 8 :-) User is a wizard.

• -=* :-) User is a TeX wizard.

Midget Smileys

A lot of these can be typed without noses to make midget smileys.

• :) Midget smiley.

• :] Gleep...a friendly midget smiley who will gladly be your friend.

• =) Variation on a theme...

• :} What should we call these? (what?)

• :) Happy.

• :> What?

• :@ What?

• :D Laughter.

• :I Hmmm...

• :( Sad.

• :[ Real Downer.

• :< What?

• :{ What?

• :O Yelling.

• :C What?

• :Q What?

• :,( Crying.

• [] Hugs and ...

• :* Kisses.

• |I Asleep.

• ^o Snoring.

Mega Smileys

• C=}>;*{)) A drunk, devilish chef with a toupee in an updraft, a mustache, and a double chin.

• }:^#}) Updrafted bushy-mustached pointy nosed smiley with a double-chin.

Usenet Smileys

In some Usenet articles you might also find these smileys which form a certain "dialect" developed and used in this most creative environment.

• ~~:-( Net.flame

• O |-) Net.religion

• 8 :-I Net.unix-wizards

• X-( Net.suicide

• E-:-I Net.ham-radio

Emotional Smileys

• :-) ha ha

• |-) hee hee

• |-D ho ho

• :-> hey hey

• :-( boo hoo

• :-I hmmm

• :-O oops

• :-P nyahhhh!

Based on an unoriginal email forwarded by Pauline Sinclair, June 1994.

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