For the funny little faces made with keyboard characters, see emoticon.
Usage note: Chat abbreviations that describe emotions are typically typed within less-than and greater-than symbols (for example, <BG> for "big grin"). Chat abbreviations that represent shorthand for sentences or phrases, such as "BBL" for "Be back later" are not usually typed within these symbols. Since some of these phrases happen to denote emotions, this usage rule can easily be violated.
|
Abbreviation |
Meaning |
|
ADN |
Any day now |
|
AFAIK |
As far as I know |
|
AFK |
Away from keyboard |
|
ARE |
Acronym-rich environment |
|
B4N |
Bye for now |
|
BAK |
Back at the keyboard |
|
BBIAB |
Be back in a bit |
|
BBL |
Be back later |
|
BEG |
Big evil grin |
|
BFD |
Big f***ing deal |
|
BFN |
Bye for now |
|
BG |
Big grin |
|
BIOYIOP |
Blow it out your I/O port |
|
BL |
Belly laughing |
|
BOTEC |
Back-of-the-envelope calculation |
|
BRB |
Be right back |
|
BTA |
But then again... |
|
BTW |
By the way |
|
CU |
See you |
|
CUL |
See you later |
|
CUL8ER |
See you later |
|
CYA |
Cover your ass |
|
CYO |
See you online |
|
DBA |
Doing business as |
|
DFLA |
Disenhanced four-letter acronym (that is, a TLA) |
|
DIKU |
Do I know you? |
|
DITYID |
Did I tell you I'm distressed? |
|
DQMOT |
Don't quote me on this |
|
EG |
Evil grin |
|
EMFBI |
Excuse me for butting in |
|
EOM |
End of message |
|
EOT |
End of thread (meaning: end of discussion) |
|
ETLA |
Extended three-letter acronym (that is, an FLA) |
|
F2F |
Face to face |
|
FAQ |
Frequently-ask question(s) |
|
FISH |
First in, still here |
|
FLA |
Four-letter acronym |
|
FMTYEWTK |
Far more than you ever wanted to know |
|
FOMCL |
Falling off my chair laughing |
|
FUBAR |
F***ed up beyond all repair or recognition |
|
FUD |
Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt |
|
FWIW |
For what it's worth |
|
FYI |
For your information |
|
G |
Grin |
|
GA |
Go ahead |
|
GAL |
Get a life |
|
GD&R |
Grinning, ducking, and running |
|
GIWIST |
Gee, I wish I'd said that |
|
GMTA |
Great minds think alike |
|
GOL |
Giggling out loud |
|
GTRM |
Going to read mail |
|
HTH |
Hope this helps |
|
IAC |
In any case |
|
IANAL |
I am not a lawyer (but) |
|
IC |
I see |
|
IHA |
I hate acronyms |
|
IIRC |
If I recall/remember/recollect correctly |
|
ILU |
or ILY I love you |
|
IM |
Immediate message |
|
IMHO |
In my humble opinion |
|
IMing |
Chatting with someone online usually while doing other things such as playing trivia or other interactive game |
|
IMNSHO |
In my not so humble opinion |
|
IOW |
In other words |
|
IPN |
I'm posting naked |
|
IRL |
In real life (that is, when not chatting) |
|
IYSWIM |
If you see what I mean |
|
JBOD |
Just a bunch of disks (like RAID, etc.) |
|
JIC |
Just in case |
|
JK |
Just kidding |
|
KWIM? |
Know what I mean? |
|
L8R |
Later |
|
LD |
Later, dude |
|
LDR |
Long-distance relationship |
|
LLTA |
Lots and lots of thunderous applause |
|
LOL |
Laughing out loud |
|
LRF |
Little Rubber Feet (the little pads on the bottom of displays and other equipment) |
|
LTM |
Laugh to myself |
|
LULAB |
Love you like a brother |
|
LULAS |
Love you like a sister |
|
MorF |
Male or female |
|
MOSS |
Member of the same sex |
|
MOTOS |
Member of the opposite sex |
|
MUSM |
Miss you so much |
|
NFG |
No f*****g good |
|
NFW |
No feasible way or no f*****g way |
|
NRN |
No response necessary |
|
OIC |
Oh, I see |
|
OLL |
Online love |
|
OTF |
Off the floor |
|
OTOH |
On the other hand |
|
OTTOMH |
Off the top of my head |
|
PANS |
Pretty awesome new stuff (as opposed to "POTS") |
|
PCMCIA |
People can't master computer industry acronyms |
|
PDA |
Public display of affection |
|
PEBCAK |
Problem exists between chair and keyboard |
|
PIBKAC |
Problem is between keyboard and chair |
|
PITA |
Pain in the ass |
|
PMFJIB |
Pardon me for jumping in but... |
|
POOF:: |
Goodbye (leaving the room) |
|
POTS |
Plain old telephone service |
|
PU |
That stinks! |
|
RL |
Real life (that is, when not chatting) |
|
ROR |
Raffing out roud (Engrish for "laughing out loud") |
|
ROTFL |
Rolling on the floor laughing |
|
ROTFLMAO |
Rolling on the floor laughing my a** off |
|
ROTFLMAOWPIMP |
Rolling on the floor laughing my a** off while peeing in my pants |
|
ROTFLMBO |
Rolling on the floor laughing my butt off |
|
RPG |
Role-playing games |
|
RSN |
Real soon now |
|
RTFM |
Read the f***ing manual |
|
RYO |
Roll your own (write your own program; derived from cigarettes rolled yourself with tobacco and paper) |
|
S4L |
Spam for life (what you may get when you become someone's customer or client) |
|
SEG |
S***-eating grin |
|
SNAFU |
Situation normal, all f***ed up |
|
SO |
Significant other |
|
SOL |
Smilling out loud or sh*t out of luck |
|
SOMY |
Sick of me yet? |
|
STFW |
Search the f*****g Web |
|
STW |
Search the Web |
|
SWAG |
Stupid wild-a** guess |
|
TAFN |
That's all for now |
|
TANSTAAFL |
There ain't no such thing as a free lunch |
|
TFH |
Thread from hell (a discussion that just won't die and is often irrelevant to the purpose of the forum or group) |
|
TGIF |
Thank God it's Friday |
|
THX |
Thanks |
|
TIA |
Thanks in advance (used if you post a question and are expecting a helpful reply) |
|
TLA |
Three-letter acronym |
|
TLK2UL8R |
Talk to you later |
|
TPTB |
The powers that be |
|
TTFN |
Ta-Ta for now |
|
TTT |
Thought that, too (when someone types in what you were about to type) |
|
TTYL |
Talk to you later |
|
TU |
Thank you |
|
UAPITA |
You're a pain in the ass |
|
UW |
You're welcome |
|
VBG |
Very big grin |
|
VBSEG |
Very big s***-eating grin |
|
WDALYIC |
Who died and left you in charge? |
|
WFM |
Works for me |
|
WIBNI |
Wouldn't it be nice if |
|
WT? |
What/who the ? |
|
WTFO |
What the F***! Over! |
|
WTG |
Way to go! |
|
WTGP? |
Want to go private? |
|
WU? |
What's up? |
|
WUF? |
Where are you from? |
|
WYSIWYG |
What you see is what you get |
|
YGBSM |
You gotta be s***tin' me! |
|
YMMV |
Your mileage may vary. |
Emoticon (also known as a "smiley")
On the Internet in e-mail, chatting, and posted messages, an emoticon (sometimes referred to as a "smiley") is a short sequence of keyboard letters and symbols, usually emulating a facial expression, expressing a feeling that supplements the message. Most of these emoticons use several symbols to create a small face with an expression such as a smile, wink, or turned-down mouth.
One of our contributors says that to read these you can either tilt your head or turn the monitor on its side.
|
:-) |
Smile |
|
;-) |
Smile with a wink |
|
:<}) |
User with mustache, smiling |
|
:-|| |
Mad |
|
:-( |
Sad |
|
:' |
-( Crying |
|
:~ |
Also crying |
|
:-)) |
Really happy |
|
:-D |
Big grin |
|
:-* |
A kiss |
|
:-P~ |
A lick |
|
:-o |
Wow! or I'm surprised |
|
:-| |
Grim |
|
:-P |
Sticking out your tongue |
|
:-\ |
User happens to be Popeye |
|
:-/ |
Perplexed |
|
=:O |
Frightened (hair standing on end) |
|
=8O |
Bug-eyed with fright |
|
:-} |
Embarassed smile |
|
:-)<>>>>> |
Basic Smiley with a necktie |
|
;-^) |
Tongue in cheek |
|
%*@:-( |
Hung over |
|
:-~~~ |
Drooling |
|
>:) |
Perplexed look |
|
.) |
Keeping an eye out for you |
|
8:-) |
Glasses on forehead |
|
8:] |
Normal smiling face of a gorilla |
|
0:-) |
Angel |
|
[:-|] |
Robot |
|
(:V) |
Duck |
|
3:-o |
Cow |
|
:-[ |
Vampire |
|
(_8-(|) |
Homer Simpson |
|
C|:-= |
Charlie Chaplin |
|
=|:-)= |
Abe Lincoln |
|
*<:-) |
Santa Claus |
|
-:-) |
User sports a mohawk and admires Mr. T |
|
(:)-) |
Scuba diver |
|
:-'| |
User has a cold |
|
:-{} |
User with heavy lipstick |
|
:-)8 |
User is well dressed |
|
>:-< |
Mad |
|
*#:-) |
Scotsman wearing his Scottish tam |
|
%-^ |
User is another Picasso |
|
#-) |
User partied all night |
|
<:I |
Dunce |
|
:-| |
"Have an ordinary day!" Smiley |
|
:}{: |
Kisses (stolen from June bug) |
|
oooo(0) |
(0)oooo Toes |
|
(-_-) |
Secret smile |
|
#.-o |
"Oh, nooooooo Mr. Bill!!!" |
The Japanese have worked out another set of emoticons that fits the nuances of Japanese culture.
Finally, as a bonus, we share our "nose over fence" (or "Kilroy was here!") with you. To use it, just do a copy and paste, make any minor space adjustments, and add a <pre> tag before it and a </pre> after it.
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