On emoticons

How did we communicate :-P, the tongue-y face emoticon, before there were emoticons? How do you translate 😛 into face-to-face communication, telephone calls, or dead-tree letter writing? Most people don’t stick out their tongue in normal day-to-day conversation, although there are a few people who use it as a common gesture, and probably inspired the emoticon.

There appear to be multiple meanings of :-P:
(1) Sillyness
(2) Disgust
(3) Annoyance

Perhaps that is why I find it difficult to replace this surprisingly complex emoticon. How did I survive without it?

2 thoughts on “On emoticons

  1. Sometimes people stick their tongues just barely out, so that they peek out at the corner of their mouths. It can be used to signify annoyance and silliness, and if you put your tongue nearer to the middle it shows disgust. Maybe it’s just me?

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