Here's an update to my popular acronym list. These acronyms were collected from all over. To get on my list they had to be used in at least one conf. by three or more persons consistently over a period of time and be faster then typing the entire phrase. There is also a list of common computer abbreviations, emoticons and key board key definitions. Enjoy. Sat 12-26-1992 14:27:53 DAN 10Q = Thank You AAMOF = As A Matter Of Fact ADN = Any Day Now AFAIK = As Far As I Know AIM = Another IBM Mistake ATSL= Along The Same Line AWGTHTGTTA = Are We Going To Have To Go Through This Again? Alternative form is AWGTHTGTATA (...Through ALL This Again?) BAC = By Any Chance BAG = Busting A Gut (Laughing) BBFN = Bye Bye For Now BCNU = Be Seeing You BFGWST = Big Fat Grin With Sharp Teeth BIOYIOP = Blow It Out Your Input Output Port BK = Because BNF = Big Name Fan BRB = Be Right Back (generally used on chat systems) BRS = Big Red Switch (on/off sw on original IBM machines) BTA = But Then Again BTSOOM = Beats the [stuffing] out of me BTW = By The Way BWG = Big Wide Grin BYKT = But You Knew That BYKTA = But You Knew That Already CE = Creative Editing [used in ANSI confs] CMIIW = Correct Me If I'm Wrong CUL = See You Later CU L8R = See You Later CYA = Cover Your A** (Ascii ?) CYL = See You Later DIIK = Damned If I Know DILLIGAFF = Do I Look Like I Give a Flying Figment DLG = Devilish Little Grin DNPM = Darn Near P***ed Myself DOM = Dirty Old Man DTRT = Do The Right Thing EMFBI = Excuse Me For Butting In EOD = End Of Discussion EOL = End Of Lecture EOT = End Of Thread ER = Hello ESOSL = Endless Snorts of Stupid Laughter FDROTFL = Falling Down Rolling On The Floor Laughing FISH = First In, Still Here FITB = Fill In The Blank.... FOAF = Friend of A Friend FOTCL = Falling Off The Chair Laughing FWIW = For What It's Worth FYEO = For Your Eyes Only FYI = For Your Information GD&R = Grin, Duck & Run GIGO = Garbage in, Garbage Out GIGO = Garbage In, Gospel Out (people accepting blindly what the computer says) GIWIST = Gee I Wish I'd Said That GLG = Goofy Little Grin GLGH = Good Luck and Good Hunting GO PRI = Send Private Mail GOK = God Only Knows GOTFIA = Groaning On The Floor In Agony GR 8 = Great HHTYAY = Happy Holidays to You and Yours IAC = In Any Case IAE = In Any Event ICOCBW = I Could, Of Course, Be Wrong IMCO = In My Considered Opinion IMCDO = In My Conceited Dogmatic Opinion. IMHO = In My Humble Opinion IMO = In My Opinion IMNSHO = In My Not So Humble Opinion IOW = In Other Words IITYWYBMAB = If I Tell You, Will You Buy Me A Beer IITYWYBAD = If I Tell You, Will You Buy Another Drink IMV = In My View INPO = In No Particular Order ISBAB = I Should Have Bought a Book ITSFWI = If The Shoe Fits, Wear It IWBNI = If would Be Nice If JOOC = Just out of Curiosity KCBIWIYWI = Keep Coming Back, It Works If You Work It KHYF = Know How You Feel KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid LLTA = Lots and Lots of Thunderous (or Thundering) Applause LOL = Laughing out loud LMAO = Laughing My A** Off LTMSH = Laughing 'Til My sides Hurt LTNT = Long Time, No Type MLA = Multiple Letter Acronym MORF = Male Or Female MOTAS = Member of the Appropriate Sex MOTOS = Member of the Opposite Sex MOTSS = Member of the Same Sex MUNG = Mash Until No Good NBL = Not Bloody Likely NICBDAT = Nothing Is Certain But Death And Taxes NIMBY = Not In My Backyard NIMTO = Not In My Term of Office NPLU = Not People Like Us NQOS = Not Quite Our Sort NRN = No Reply Necessary NTYMI = Now That You Mention It OAS = On Another Subject OIC = OH!, I See OTOH = On The Other Hand PBX = Private Branch eXchange PF&HOMW = Printed, Framed & Hanging On My Wall PGY = Post Graduate year PGY-1, PGY-2 etc. used in PGY Med. PITA = Pain In The A** PLOKTA = Press Lots of keys to abort PMETC = Pardon Me Etc. PMJI = Pardon My Jumping In POSSLQ = Person of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters POV = Point Of View PPTSPAHS = Please pass the salt, pepper and hot sauce...used when I've had to eat crow, my hat, and other unsavory dishes! PTO=Patent and Trademark Office (US Govt) PMYMHMMFSWGAD = Pardon Me, You Must Have Mistaken Me For Someone Who Gives A Damn. ROFL = Rolling On Floor Laughing ROFLAHMSL = Rolling On Floor Laughing And Holding My Sides Laughing ROTBA = Reality On The Blink Again ROTFL = Rolling On The Floor Laughing ROFLASTC (or ROFLASC) = Rolling On The Floor Laughing And Scaring The Cat. Originated, I'm told by Pamela Dean, who types with a cat on her lap. ROTFLMAAOBPO = Rolling On The Floor Laughing My A** And Other Body Parts Off ROTM = Right On The Money ROY G. BIV = An acronym for the colors of the spectrum-- Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet RSN = Real Soon Now RTFM = Read The F**** Manual SFLA = Stupid Four Letter Acronym SITD = Still in the dark SMOP = Small Matter of Programming SOP = Standing Operational Proceedures SOW = Speaking of Which SWAG = Simple Wild A** Guess SYT = Sweet Young Thing TAFN = Thats all for Now TANJ = There Ain't No Justice TANSTAAFL = There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch TDM = Too Damn Many TIA = Thanks In Advance TIC = Tongue In Cheek TINALO = This Is Not A Legal Opinion TINAR = This Is Not A Recommendation TIWTGLGG = This Is Where The Goofy Little Grin Goes TJATAW = Truth, Justice, And The American Way TLA = Three Letter Acronym (now surpassed by MLA) TPTB = The Powers That Be TOBAL = There Oughta Be A Law TOBG = This Oughta Be Good TRDMC = Tears Running Down My Cheeks TSR = Terminate and Stay Resident program TTBOMK = To The Best Of My Knowledge TTFN = Ta Ta For Now TTYL = Talk To You Later TYVM = Thank You Very Much WAMKSAM = Why Are My Kids (or Kitties) Staring At Me? WAW = Why Ask Why? WIBAMU = Well I'll be a Monkey's Uncle WIMP = Windows, Icons, Mouse, Pointing (to describe Windows & other similar interfaces) WRT = With Respect To WYGIWYPF = What you get is what you pay for WYSBYGI = What You See Before You Get It WYSIWYG = What You See Is What You Get WYTYSYDG = What You Thought You Saw, You Didn't Get YABA = Yet Another Bloody Acronym YAFA = Yet Another "Fine" Abbreviation YMBK(J) = You Must Be Kidding (Joking) YAP = Yet Another Ploy YGLT = You're Gonna Love This ... YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary Military SHAEF = Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force ETO = European Theater of Operation NORAD = North American Air Defense Command AEF = America Expeditionary Force BEF = British Expeditionary Force ANZAC = Australian & New Zealand Army Corp BOHICA = Bend Over Here It Comes Again CATTAC = Chief Assistant To The Assistant Chief DILLIGAFF = Do I Look Like I Give A Flying @#$% FOAD = Fall Over And Die FUBAR = F***** beyond All Reconigition FUBB = F***** Beyond Belief HMFIC = Head M** F** in Charge HMFICC = Head M** F** in COMPLETE Charge KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid POETS = "Pass" On Everything, Tomorrow's Saturday POINTS = "Pass" On It Now, Tomorrow's Saturday REMF = Rear Echelon M** F** SNAFU = Situation Normal All F***** up SOP = Standing Operational Proceedures TLAM = Tomahawk Land-Air Missile...aka Cruise Missile TPTB = The Powers That Be Star Trek TGBOTG = The Great Bird Of The Galaxy (Gene Roddenberry, himself) LLAP = Live Long And Prosper YATI = Yet Another Trek Inconsistency LA - Laughing Aloud ST - Star Trek AAA - Amazingly Appropriate Abbreviation. FTL - Faster Than Light ILM - Industrial Light and Magic RPG - Role Playing Game SFS - Search for Spock (Star Trek 3) SFX - Special Effect TAS - The Animated Series TFF - The Final Frontier (Star Trek 5) TNG - The Next Generation TMP - The Motion Picture (Star Trek 1) TOS - The Original Series TUC - The Undiscovered Country (Star Trek 6) TVH - The Voyage Home (Star Trek 4) UFP - United Federation of Planets YAP - Yet Another Ploy YAR - Yet Another Rumor FASA - FAntaSimulations Associates GMTA - Great Minds Think Alike IDIC - Infinite diversity in infinite combinations TSFS - The Search for Spock (Star Trek 3) TTFN - Ta Ta For Now TTYL - Talk To Ya Later TWOK - The Wrath of Kahn (Star Trek 2) YASQ - Yet Another Stupid Question YATI - Yet Another Trek Inconsistancy BOBW1 - Best of Both Worlds part 1 (Season Finale for third season) BOBW2 - Conclusion to Best of Both Worlds DQOTD - Dumb Question Of The Day ROBTA - Reality On the Blink Again CC Conference Coordinator CH Conference Host IMO In My Opinion L8R Later R/O Receiver Only ROTM Right On The Money SIG Special Interest Group TTFN Ta Ta For Now TTMS Talk (Type) To Me Soon TTYL(A) Talk (Type) To You Later (Alligator) In some of the Religion conferences, you might find the following: BB Blessed Be or Bright blessing(s) [wiccan greeting] BBHN Blessed Be Her Name [wiccan her refers to the goddess] BAC Born Again Christian DISA Dead In Sin Agnostic/Athiest RBAC Radical Born Again Christian SO Significant Other (boy/girlfriend, spouse, lover, etc.) MOTOS Member of the Opposite Sex MOTSS Member of the Same Sex MOTAS Member of the Appropriate Sex PASA Pagan & Atheist Scum Alliance (formed to debate the Born Again Christians) In some of the technical conferences, you might find the following: AI Artificial Intelligence ANSI American National Standards Institute ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange BASIC Beginner's All purpose Symbolic Instruction Code (programming) BCD Binary Coded Decimal (programming) BIOS Basic Input Output System BPS Bits Per Second (communication) CAD Computer Aided Design CAE Computer Aided Engineering CAM Computer Aided Manufacturing CASE Computer Aided Software Engineering (programming) CCITT Consultative Committee for International Telephony & Telegraphy CD-ROM Compact Disk-Read Only Memory CGA Color Graphics Adapter (screen) CMOS Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (memory) CPI Characters Per Inch (printer) CPL Characters Per Line (printer) CPS Characters Per Second (communication) CPU Central Processing Unit CRT Cathode Ray Tube (screen) DD Double Density (floppy disk) DEC Digital Equipment Corporation DES Data Encryption Standard DIF Device Input Format DIP Dual In-line Package (memory) DMA Direct Memory Access DS Double Sided (floppy disk) DV DESQview (multitasking program) EGA Enhanced Graphics Adapter (screen) EMM Expanded Memory Manager (memory) EMS Expanded Memory Specification (memory) EOF End Of File EOL End Of Line EPROM Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (memory) ESDI Enhanced Small Device Interface (hard disk) FAT File Allocation Table (disk) FCC Federal Communications Commission (communication) GUI Graphical User Interface (screen) HD High Density (floppy disk) HGC Hercules Graphics Card (screen) I/F Interface I/O Input/Output IDE Intergrated Drive Electronics (hard disk) KB Kilo Byte = 1,024 bytes LIM Lotus Intel Microsoft Expanded Memory Specification LPI Lines Per Inch (printer) MB Mega Byte = 1,048,576 bytes MDA Monochrome Display Adapter (screen) MFM Modified Frequency Modulation (hard disk) MIPS Millions of Instructions Per Second MIS Management Information Systems MMU Memory Management Unit MNP Microcom Network Protocol (communication) MS Microsoft OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer POST Power On Self Test PROM Programmable Read Only Memory (memory) RAM Random Access Memory (memory) RLL Run Length Limited (hard disk) TPA Third Party Applications EMOTICONS Emoticons are symbols to denote emotions. Sometimes it is just a word inside < > brackets for example... or To mark a joke or sarcastic comment A very popular emoticon is: :) a smile EMOTICON PART I To help telecom-sters clarify just how humorous their postings are intended to be, here is a collection of the many faces of humor, emoticon-style. emoticon: n. a figure created with the symbols on a keyboard that is read with the head tilted to the left. Used to convey the spirit in which a line of text was typed. ************************************************************************ * * * Tilt your head slightly to the left to read the following emoticons. * * * ************************************************************************ :-) Humor :-) )-: Masking theatrical comments :<) For those with hairy lips :<)= For those with beards too :/) Not funny '-) Wink P-) Pirate ;-) Sardonic incredulity (@ @) You're kidding! :-" Pursing lips :-v Just another face (speaking) profiled from the side :-V Shout :-w Speak with forked tongue :-W Shout with forked tongue :-r Bleahhh (sticking tongue out) :-f :-p :-1 Smirks :-, <:-O Eeek! :-* Oops (covering mouth with hand) :-T keeping a straight face (tight-lipped) :-D said with a smile :-P :-y :-o More versions of shouting :-O :-{ Count Drcula =|:-)= Uncle Sam 7:) Reagan :-# Censored :~i Smoking :~j (and smiling) :/i No smoking :-I It's something, but I don't know what.... :-x Kiss kiss :-> Alternate happy face :-( Unhappy :-c Real unhappy :-C Unbelieving (jaw dropped) :-< Forlorn :-B Drooling (or overbite) :-| Disgusted :-? Licking your lips <:>== A turkey emoticon :-) :-) :-) Loud guffaw :-J Tongue-in-cheek comments :*) Clowning around :-8 Talking out both sides of your mouth (:-) Msgs dealing with bicycle helmets @= Warning about nuclear war <:-) For dumb questions o= A burning candle for flames -= A doused candle to end a flame OO Headlights on msg :_) I used to be a boxer, but it really got my nose out of joint EMOTICONS PART ][ B-) Smiling and wearing glasses or sunglasses (or a message from Batman) 8-) Same as previous; also used to denote wide-eyed look #:-) :-) done by someone with sort of matted hair :-o "Oh, nooooooo!" (a la Mr. Bill) #:-o Same as previous |-( Late night messages :^) Messages teasing people about their noses :-{#} Messages teasing people about their braces (:-$ Message indicating person is ill... (:-& Message indicating person is angry... (:-( Message indicating person is VERY sad... (:^( Message concerning people with broken noses (:<) Message concerning blabber mouths :-(=) Message about people with big teeth &:-) Message from a person with curly hair @:-) Message from a person with wavy hair ?-( Message about people with a black eye *:* Message about fuzzy things *:** Message about fuzzy things with fuzzy mustaches %-) Message about people with broken glasses +<:-| Message from a monk/nun... {0-) Message from cyclops... (:-|K- Formal message. ...---... S.O.S. @%&$%& You know what that means... ||*( Handshake offered ||*) Handshake accepted <&&> Message concerning rubber chickens >< >< Message about/to someone wearing argyle socks 2B|^2B Message about Shakespeare (-_-) Secret smile <{:-)} Message in a bottle... <:-)<<| Message from a space rocket... (:-... Heart-breaking message... <<<<(:-) Message from a hat sales-man... (O--< A fishy message... (:>-< Message from a thief: hands up! --->---- A rose. EMOTICONS PART ]I[ :-o Wow! :-c Real unhappy :-| Grim :-C Just totally unbelieving := | Baboon :-B Drooling :-v Speaking :-, Smirk :-V Shout :-|| Anger :-w Speak with forked tongue :-) Smiling :-r Sticking tongue out :-( Frowning :-* Oops! '-) Wink :-T Keeping a straight face ;-) Sardonic Incredulity :-D Said with a smile %- Drunk with laughter :-x Kiss kiss :-" Pursing lips :-[ Pouting :-# My lips are sealed :-X A big wet kiss! :-P Tongue hanging out in anticipation :-Y A quiet aside 8-| Eyes wide with surprise >-< Absolutely livid!! &-| Tearful |-{ "Good Grief!" (Charlie Brown?) :-} "Thish wine tashted pretty good" 8-] "wow, maaan" 8-O "Omigod!!" (done after "rm -rf *" ?) :-, "Hmmmm." |~( "Someone just busted my nose". :^D "Great! I like it!" B-D "Serves you right, dummy!!" EMOTICONS PART IV :-) Your basic smiley. This smilie is used to inflect a sarcastic or joking statement since we can't hear voice inflection over Unix. ;-) 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 Frowning smilie but not quite as good as a happy smiley :-> 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. Those are the basic ones...Here are some somewhat less common ones: :-( Boo hoo :-)X Bow tie *:o) Bozo the Clown! :-c Bummed out smiley :-8( Condescending stare (:I Egghead ~~:-( Flame 8-) Glasses 8:-) Glasses on forehead :-) Ha ha E-:-I Ham-radio :-| "Have an ordinary day" smiley |-) Hee hee :-> Hey hey :-I Hmm |-D Ho ho B-) Horn-rims Invisible smiley (8-o It's Mr. Bill! :-/ Lefty undecided smiley >:-< Mad 3:[ Mean Pet smiley O-) Megaton Man On Patrol! (or else, user is a scuba diver) :-{ Mustache :-: Mutant Smiley :-x "My lips are sealed" smiley :-0 No Yelling! (Quiet Lab) :-P Nyah nyah :-P Nyahhhh! 3:] Pet smiley 3:o[ Pet smiley =:-) Punk-rocker =:-( Real punk rockers don't smile :-< Real sad smiley O |-) Religion :-6 Smiley after eating something sour :-! Smiley bland face :-1 Smiley bland face :-] Smiley blockhead 0-) Smiley cyclops (scuba diver?) :-$ Smiley face with it's mouth wired shut :-0 Smiley orator :-o Smiley singing national anthem :-` Smiley spitting out its chewing tobacco :-p Smiley sticking its tongue out (at you!) 8-) Smiley swimmer {:-) Smiley with its hair parted in the middle g-) Smiley with pince-nez glasses :-Q Smoker >:-I Star trek X-( Suicide B:-) Sunglasses on head :-v Talking head smiley }:-( Toupee in an updraft @:I Turban :-O Uh oh :-o Uh oh! :-[ Un-smiley blockhead :-\ Undecided smiley 8 :-I Unix-wizards (:-( Unsmiley frowning :-} User has Beard :^) User has a broken nose :-{) User has a mustache %-) User has been staring at a green screen for 15 hours straight <|-) User is Chinese <|-( User is Chinese and doesn't like these kind of jokes :-)-8 User is a Big girl E-:-) User is a Ham radio operator :-[ User is a Vampire C=:-) User is a chef <:-I User is a dunce 8:-) User is a little girl K:P User is a little kid with a propeller beanie [:] User is a robot O :-) User is an angel (at heart, at least) |-I User is asleep %-6 User is brain dead ;-( User is crying :*) User is drunk :<) User is from an Ivy League School :-D User is laughing (at you!) (-: User is left handed :-9 User is licking his/her lips @= User is pro-nuclear war :-C User is really bummed :-@ User is screaming :-/ User is skeptical ;-) User is so happy, s/he is crying +-:-) User is the Pope or holds some other religious office :-& User is tongue tied. *<:-) User is wearing a Santa Claus Hat @:-) User is wearing a turban [:-) User is wearing a walkman 8-) User is wearing sunglasses |-O User is yawning/snoring :-* User just ate something sour X-( User just died :-7 User just made a wry statement :-S User just made an incoherent statement .-) User only has one eye ,-) User only has one eye...but he's winking ,:-) User shaved off Eyebrow...other side `:-) User shaved one of his eyebrows off this morning :-? User smokes a pipe {:-) User wears a toupee :-# User wears braces B-) User wears horn-rimmed glasses :-{} User wears lipstick ::-) User wears normal glasses :-X User's lips are sealed :-E Vampire, Bucktoothed :-F Vampire, Bucktoothed with one tooth missing ;-) Winking smiley d8= Your pet beaver is wearing goggles and a hard hat. |-P Yuk C=}>;*{O) Mega-Smiley... A drunk, devilish chef with a toupee in an updraft, a mustache, and a double chin Note: A lot of these can be typed without noses to make midget smileys. |I Asleep :,( Crying ;( Crying :] Gleep...a friendly midget smiley who will gladly be your friend :) Happy :> Hmm, let me think... :I Hmmm, not funny! :I Hmmm... [] Hugs and :* Kisses :D Laughter :> Midget smiley :) Midget smilie :< Midget unsmiley :{ Oh boy, the headmaster!... :[ Real Downer :( Sad |^o Snoring =) Variation on a theme... :< What pretenses! :} What should we call these? (what?) :@ What? :O Yelling ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º EMOTICONS PART V --- People º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ 98-pound weakling :-)-- Accountant :%) Adolph Hitler :-=) Arnold Schwarznegger :-)== Bon Jovi ### #:-) ### Bozo the Clown ### :o) ### Carl Friedrich Gauss :+) Celibate :-) > Dolly Parton :-) 8 Donald Trump :$) Ed Koch # :-) # Everyman :*) Helen Keller - Innie (belly button) :-) . Jimmy Durante :###) John Holmes :-) --- John Q. Public :Q) Jose Feliciano -) Leper : ) Lesbians :-Q < > Q-: Manic depressive :-) ... :-( ... :-) ... :-( .... Nymphomaniac :-) < ... :-) < ... :-) < .... Outie :-) , Peter Ubberoth :~) Philosopher :?) Picasso %\v Pig :@) Sam Kinnison :-)!!! Sammy Davis, Jr. .-) Schizophrenic *!#*!^*&:-) Siamese twins (-::-) Slut :-) < Willie Shoemaker :-) Wilt Chamberlin :-) Male :- Female >- Infinity 8 Drama :-( Comedy :-) Surprise :-o Suspense 8-| Birth |-O Death 8-# EMOTICONS PART VI :-)~ User drools :-~) User has a cold :v) User has a broken nose, but it's the other way :_) User's nose is sliding off of his face =:-) User is a hose head -:-) User is a punk rocker -:-( (real punk rockers don't smile) :=) User has two noses 8 :-) User is a wizard Note: A lot of these can be typed without noses to make midget smilies. :-@ smiley face screaming :-#| smiley face with bushy mustache :-% smiley banker :^) smiley with pointy nose (righty) :-7 smiley after a wry statement smiley invisible man (:-) smiley big-face ):-) " ):-( unsmiley big-face )8-) scuba smiley big-face =:-) smiley punk-rocker =:-( (real punk rockers don't smile) +:-) smiley priest :-q smiley trying to touch its tongue to its nose :-e disappointed smiley :-t cross smiley :-i semi-smiley :-a lefty smiley touching tongue to nose :-s smiley after a BIZARRE comment :-d lefty smiley razzing you g-) smiley with ponce-nez glasses :-j left smiling smiley :-k beats me, looks like something, tho. :-l y. a. s. :-z y.a.c.s. :v) left-pointing nose smiley :-b left-pointing tongue smiley .-] one-eyed smiley ,-} wry and winking 0-) smiley cyclops (scuba diver?) :-=) older smiley with mustache :u) smiley with funny-looking left nose :n) smiley with funny-looking right nose }:^#}) mega-smiley: updrafted bushy-mustached pointy nosed smiley with a double-chin O |-) net.religion 8 :-I net.unix-wizards E-:-I net.ham-radio :-} beard :-{ mustache :-# braces :-X bow tie :-Q smoker <:I dunce (:I egghead @:I turban 8-) glasses B-) horn-rims 8:-) glasses on forehead :-8( condescending stare ;-) wink >:-< mad These emoticons are particularly used by the Japanese but there is no reason why they should not get worldwide use..... ^^ happiness ^^; embarrassment ;; sadness -- when it's the occasion to bow COMPUTER KEYBOARD SYMBOLS * star, splat, spider, aster, times, wildcard, gear, dingle, (Nathan) Hale#, bug, gem, twinkle * Nathan Hale "I have but one asterisk for my country." [] BRACKETS, square brackets, U-turns, edged parentheses, mimics [ LEFT BRACKET, bracket, bra, square, opensquare ] RIGHT BRACKET, unbracket, ket, unsquare, close \ BACKSLASH, reversed virgule, bash, backslant, backwhack, backslat, escape*, backslak, bak, reduce# ^ CIRCUMFLEX, caret, carrot, hat, cap, uphat, party hat, housetop, up arrow, control, boink, chevron, hiccup, to-the, fang, sharkfin, and#, xor+, wok, trap _ UNDERSCORE, underline, underbar, under, score, backarrow, flatworm, blank ` GRAVE, grave accent, accent, backquote, left/open quote, backprime, unapostrophe, backspark, birk, blugle, backtick, push, backglitch, backping {} BRACES, curly braces, squiggly braces, curly brackets, squiggle brackets, Tuborgs#, ponds { LEFT BRACE, brace, curly, leftit, embrace, openbrace, begin+ } RIGHT BRACE, unbrace, uncurly, rytit, bracelet, close, end+ | VERTICAL BAR, pipe*, pipe to*, vertical line, broken line#, bar, or+, bitor+, vert, v-bar, spike, to*, gazinta*, thru*, pipesinta*, tube, mark, whack, gutter, wall ~ TILDE, twiddle, tilda, tildee, wave, squiggle, swung dash, approx, wiggle, enyay#, home*, worm -- MULTIPLE CHARACTER STRINGS -- !? interrobang (one overlapped character) /* slashterix+ */ asterslash+ >> appends*, cat-astrophe -> arrow+, pointer to+, hiccup+ #! sh'bang, wallop \!* bash-bang-splat () nil# && and+, amper-amper, succeeds-then* || or+, fails-then* -- NOTES -- ! bang comes from old card punch phenom where punching ! code made a loud noise # octothorpe from Bell System $ string from BASIC $ escape from TOPS-10 & donald duck from the Danish "Anders And", which means "Donald Duck" * splat from DEC "spider" glyph * Nathan Hale "I have but one asterisk for my country." = quadrathorpe half an octothorpe - bithorpe half a quadrathorpe (So what's a monothorpe?) . put Victor Broge on Electric Company / across APL / compress APL snable-a from Danish; may translate as "trunk-a" trunk-a "trunk" = "elephant nose" ^ and from formal logic \ reduce APL {} Tuborgs from advertizing for well-known Danish beverage | broken line EBCDIC has two vertical bars, one solid and one broken. ~ enyay from the Spanish n-tilde () nil LISP ! EXCLAMATION POINT, exclamation mark, exclamation, exclam, excl, clam, bang#, shout, yell, shriek, pling, factorial, ball-bat, smash, cuss, wow, hey, boing " QUOTATION MARK, quote, double quote, dirk, literal mark, rabbit ears, double ping, double glitch # CROSSHATCH, pound, pound sign, number, number sign, sharp, octothorpe#, hash, fence, crunch, mesh, hex, flash, grid, pig-pen, tictactoe, scratch, scratch mark, gardengate, gate, hak, oof, rake, sink $ DOLLAR SIGN, dollar, cash, currency symbol, buck, string#, escape#, ding, big-money % PERCENT SIGN, percent, mod+, shift-5, double-oh-seven, grapes & AMPERSAND, and, amper, address+, shift-7, andpersand, snowman, bitand+, donald duck#, daemon ' APOSTROPHE, single quote, quote, tick, prime, irk, pop, spark, glitch * ASTERISK, star, splat, spider, aster, times, wildcard*, gear, dingle, (Nathan) Hale#, bug, gem, twinkle () PARENTHESES, parens, round brackets, bananas, ears, bowlegs, parenthesee (singular only), weapons ( LEFT PARENTHESIS, paren, so, wax, parenthesee, open, sad ) RIGHT PARENTHESIS, thesis, already, wane, unparenthesee, close, happy + PLUS SIGN, plus, add, cross, and, intersection, and , COMMA, tail - HYPHEN, minus, minus sign, dash, dak, option, flag, negative, negative sign, worm, bithorpe# . PERIOD, dot, decimal, decimal point, radix point, point, spot, full stop, put#, floor / SLASH, stroke, virgule, solidus, slant, diagonal, over, slat, slak, across#, compress#, spare : COLON, two-spot, double dot, dots ; SEMICOLON, semi, hybrid <> ANGLE BRACKETS, angles, funnels, brokets < LESS THAN, less, read from*, from*, in*, comesfrom*, crunch, sucks > GREATER THAN, more, write to*, into/toward*, out*, gazinta*, zap, blows = EQUAL SIGN, equals, equal, gets, quadrathorpe#, half-mesh ? QUESTION MARK, question, query, whatmark, what, wildchar*, huh, ques, kwes, quiz, quark, hook @ AT SIGN, at, each, vortex, whorl, whirlpool, cyclone, snail, ape, cat, snable-a#, trunk-a#, rose, cabbage, Mercantile symbol