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Emoticons

In the world of e-mail and electronic messages, which are delivered without the benefit of body language, facial expression and vocal inflection, it's easy for any reader to misinterpret or question the spirit in which a message was written.

Emoticons (also called smileys) are a way to help readers understand what the writer had in mind when composing a message. Emoticons are simply variations of the ever-present, always annoying happy face.

You create emoticons with keyboard characters, and you read them by tilting your head toward your left shoulder and looking at the characters sideways. In the wild and wacky world of online communication, a colon and a closing parenthesis springs to life as a sideways happy face. :) See? Suddenly the sun is shining, birds are singing, and the Internet is a warmer and fuzzier place. Well, that's the theory, anyway.

The following is a collection of smileys and emoticons that has been in my family for years and handed down from generation to generation. I've arranged the following emoticon extravaganza in alphabetical order for ease of reference, proving once and for all that I have no life and really need to get out more often.

Remember, told your head toward your left shoulder and look at each one sideways. Let the digital aerobics begin!

:-(*) About to be sick

':-) Accidentally shaved one eyebrow

O:-) Angel

(:-& Angry

#-) Another all-night party

=):0:= Abe Lincoln

:-* Ate sour pickle

#:-) Bad hair day

(:-) Bald

d:-) Baseball fan

(:-) Bicycle rider, wearing helmet

:>) Big nose

:-D Big smile

?-( Black eye

:-)8 Bow tie

*:o) Bozo

:-{#} Braces

%-( Broken eyeglasses

(:^( Broken nose

}:-( Bullheaded

----<;))><> Caught fish

:-# Censored

'@;;;;;;;;;.. Centipede

C=:-) Chef

:-8( Condescending stare

%-} Crossing eyes

:,-( Crying

{O-) Cyclops

*-( Cyclops poked in the eye

:-e Disappointed

===:-D Don King

:-] Dopey grin

:-)' Drooling

<:-) Dunce

@;^[) Elvis

X= Fingers crossed

<:00>< Fish

:-! Foot in mouth

}:> Furrowed brow

[8-] Frankenstein

*<(:') Frosty the Snowman

:-> Goofy happy face

8:-) Glasses on forehead

$-) Greedy

/:-) Gumby

:-{ Handlebar moustache

:) Happy face

:-) Happy face with nasal option

<<<<(:-) Hats for sale!

(:… Heartbreaking

(:-[ Hulk Hogan

%-\ Hung over

[ ] Hug

Invisible man

X-) I see nothing

:-X I'll say nothing

:-~) I've got a cold

:-x Kiss

:-? Licking lips

@@@@@@@:) Marge Simpson

:-.) Marilyn Monroe

:~) Needs a nose job

:^-( Nose is out of joint

(:-$ Not feeling well

:/) Not particularly amusing

(:-< Not a happy camper

:-X Not saying a word

:-o "Oh, nooooo!" (As in Mr. Bill)

.-) One-eyed smiley

:-* Oops! (Covering mouth with hand)

[name] Personal hug

:-? Pipe smoker

P-) Pirate

+:-) Priest

=:-) Punk rocker

8-<:)> Propeller head

@]'-,-- Rose

:-( Sadness

:-@ Screaming

:-o Shouting

:-O Shouting loudly

:-1 Smirk

:-Q Smoker

:-' Spitting

:-" Spitting tobacco

:-b Sticking tongue out

:-8 Talking out both sides of your mouth

2B|^2B "To be or not to be"

:-J Tongue-in-cheek

{(:-) Toupee

}(:-) Toupee in the wind

:-q Trying to touch tongue to nose

<:>= Turkey

(:|-K-< Tuxedo

:-C Unbelievable!

:-( Unhappy

:-c Very unhappy

\\// Vulcan salute

{{name}} Warm embrace

q:-) Wearing hat backwards

8-) Wearing eyeglasses

g-) Wearing pince-nez glasses

(:)-) Wearing scuba mask

@:-) Wearing turban

;-) Wink

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