๐Ÿ˜ฌ amirite?
April 26, 2017 2:18 PM   Subscribe

According to Emojipedia, the grimacing emoji (๐Ÿ˜ฌ)โ€”approved as part of Unicode 6.1 in 2012 and added to Emoji 1.0 in 2015โ€”is โ€œgenerally used when a mistake or unfavorable situation has arisenโ€”aka โ€˜eekโ€™โ€! But this explanation, while accurate, underestimates the versatility, and sheer human poetry, contained in a simple cartoon grimace. In these awkward, uncomfortable times, we all feel like gritting our teeth in a straight line sometimes. Here are just a few reasons why the grimacing emoji is the best.
posted by Johnny Wallflower (72 comments total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
I like the blank stare emoji best. The one with expressionless eyes and a mouth that's a straight line. ๐Ÿ˜ It is especially useful as punctuation for dry sarcasm. ๐Ÿ˜
posted by wabbittwax at 2:23 PM on April 26, 2017 [20 favorites]


I was going to say the other reason the grimacing emoji is the best is that it looks just like the grinning emoji except for the eyes, and that duality was always fun to play off of for dumb sight gags, except they changed the grinning one. ๐Ÿ˜

So weird. Slack has yet to catch up on that one, so I will enjoy this duality a bit longer.
posted by limeonaire at 2:23 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]


๐Ÿ˜ฌ is just handy for so many aspects of my life.
posted by sandettie light vessel automatic at 2:29 PM on April 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


Can I just chime in to say Samsung make great phones but they have the stupidest emoji.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 2:37 PM on April 26, 2017 [21 favorites]




are you even TRYING
posted by EndsOfInvention at 2:40 PM on April 26, 2017 [44 favorites]


are you even TRYING

All other companies in the world: Chocolate chip cookies for everyone!
Samsung: No. Give them Saltines.
Samsung customers: Do the Saltines burst into flames or explode?
Samsung: No. They are just Saltines.
Samsung customers: We will take them!
posted by The Bellman at 2:44 PM on April 26, 2017 [16 favorites]


I JUST got a new Samsung phone yesterday. Now I'm all ๐Ÿ˜ฌ
posted by Kabanos at 2:56 PM on April 26, 2017 [5 favorites]


That's what I look like when I sleep!

I gotta get a less stressful job.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 3:04 PM on April 26, 2017 [3 favorites]


๐Ÿ˜ถ
posted by ardgedee at 3:11 PM on April 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


Samsung: We have no idea what is causing the Saltines to burst into flames and explode. They don't even have batteries.
Samsung customers: Sigh.
posted by The Bellman at 3:12 PM on April 26, 2017 [3 favorites]


no comment ๐Ÿค
posted by oneswellfoop at 3:13 PM on April 26, 2017


๐Ÿ™„

I'm seeing you, grimacing emoji, and I roll my eyes at you!
posted by BlueHorse at 3:17 PM on April 26, 2017


:/ I'm not even sure how to make a grimace in plain text... Have to agree on the lameness of Samsung emoji.
posted by saulgoodman at 3:20 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]


๐Ÿ˜ฌ IS HOW I FEEL RICK
posted by SPrintF at 3:29 PM on April 26, 2017 [17 favorites]


I don't think I've ever used the grimace emoji except when my 3-year-old wants to "send a message" to somebody, and then it's like 45 assorted smileys, a bunch of food, and flags of the world. ๐Ÿ˜ฌ๐Ÿ—๐Ÿค๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ด
posted by uncleozzy at 3:33 PM on April 26, 2017 [5 favorites]


Can we talk about the total inadequacy of all facepalm emojis? None of them capture the true essence of a facepalm like a Picard.

And this is an emotion I need to communicate a lot at work and at home.
posted by Kabanos at 3:40 PM on April 26, 2017 [7 favorites]


And wow, those Samsung emoji really are terrible. Google's aren't much better.
posted by uncleozzy at 3:54 PM on April 26, 2017


The grimacing emoji is the best. It's my go-to, honestly. ๐Ÿ˜ฌ It's the closest to the face I make at people most often in real life.
posted by Zephyrial at 4:03 PM on April 26, 2017 [4 favorites]


What the actual eff?!? The alleged grimace emoji (๐Ÿ˜ฌ) is totally my regular go-to "BEEEE-AM" or "see what I did there?" choice. Kinda related to the cheesy-grin or the even-cheesier-ting-off-the-teeth. Now you're telling me he's actually being read as Little Bobby Grimlock? METAFILTER, I AM DISGRUNT! yes, yes, i know there's an emoji for that too
posted by comealongpole at 4:04 PM on April 26, 2017 [4 favorites]


I dunno, I get most of my mileage out of the crying cat emoji. Occasionally, the smiling cat emoji. Once in a while, the angry cat emoji.

You may recognize a pattern.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:11 PM on April 26, 2017 [4 favorites]


I love the ๐Ÿ˜ฌ so much I added it to my name on Twitter when all the other cool kids were just adding snowflakesโ„๏ธ.
posted by offalark at 4:11 PM on April 26, 2017


Samsung's emoji are totally off. The first rule of designing affordances, the hints on things that indicate how they are to be used and the 'actionable properties between the world and an actor' [Gibson, 77,79], is that you try to guide people as to when and how things should be used. You draw on experience and often use the qualities of an object that can be perceived immediately. I see a mug, I see a handle, I grab the handle, I pick up the contents safely and without risk of burning or chilling my hand. It is bad form to disguise a lethal Indian Krait as the handle in the hope that, when picking it up, my subverted affordance will lead to my painful death.

It may also be illegal but you'd have to check with the Design Council.

People are going to have some differences about the meaning of the individual emoji but Samsung have taken some of these and redefined what they mean. The Saltine/Cookie one is a really good example of this really bad idea. A cookie is a reward. Giving someone a cookie is a proxy for good things. Giving someone a Saltine is not. We have taken something to be offered as a reward, a strong hint for its use, on the source system and turned into a DRY CHEESELESS SNACK CRACKER THAT WILL RAISE YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE.

Here's a link to a Don Norman article that will get you deeper into affordances if that interests you. There are probably many more experts on this on the Blue and I defer to them, returning to my regularly scheduled office.
posted by nfalkner at 4:16 PM on April 26, 2017 [11 favorites]


Google is the only one that gets the right amount of "I realize my life decisions have led me to this permanent state of simmering frazzledness but just one more after-midnight coffee should totally help" in their dizzy face ๐Ÿ˜ต

Also, Samsung isn't alone in getting that one way, way wrong
posted by jason_steakums at 4:20 PM on April 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


A cookie is a reward. Giving someone a cookie is a proxy for good things. Giving someone a Saltine is not.

I am thoroughly on board with this implication that a saltine is a punishment.
posted by jason_steakums at 4:22 PM on April 26, 2017 [4 favorites]


I'm trying to find statistics, but my guess is that parrots overwhelmingly prefer Samsung over its competitors.
posted by Kabanos at 4:24 PM on April 26, 2017 [3 favorites]


:/
posted by Diablevert at 4:48 PM on April 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


There is an interesting change to affordance that comes into play when you have regional threats. Very few Australians with experience outside of cities will stick their hands under tables or into holes (to get a grip to lift, a common affordance) without checking first, simply because we have some critters that like to set up shop in such places.

I used to do Army things and Australian soldiers get used to the idea that the Australian bush is a beautiful but deadly place. Being aware of where you step is often important. Contrast this with a group of New Zealand soldiers, on exchange from glorious New Zealand where they are no venomous snakes. For them, the affordance of a field of tall waving grass was to plunge into it. We talked them out of it before too many were taken by drop bears.
posted by nfalkner at 4:49 PM on April 26, 2017 [8 favorites]


Cal Henderson, ex-flickr, now Slack co-founder, gave a pretty great talk on emojis at Webstock this year.
posted by maupuia at 5:00 PM on April 26, 2017


:||
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 5:03 PM on April 26, 2017


Eww, that looks like a Pepe.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 5:03 PM on April 26, 2017 [3 favorites]


The first time I saw grimacing emoji was after a friend and I cried together. After, I texted her something about "looking forward to crying with you again" (because it was cathartic) and she sent back the grimacing face.

It was perfect
posted by Gorgik at 5:04 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]


Grimacing emoji always makes me think of Chandler trying to smile. It's the best.
posted by Room 641-A at 5:23 PM on April 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


HOLY HELL, I never realized how terrible the Samsung ones are compared to others, since I've never had their smartphones. In most cases it looks like they're just going out of their way to be different.

more examples (this is a crazy timesuck):
Dango - where Samsung is the only one facing the other way and have the one on top in orange and not pink.
Memo - no, we're gonna hold our pencil up!
Wrapped Present - polka dots
Anguished Face - that's not anguish, that's exasperated.
Crying Face - DOUBLE. TEARS.
Face Screaming in Fear - this face specifically is in fear of a ghost coming out of its mouth.
Disappointed but Relieved Face - in fairness, I think Samsung is the only one that got this face correct.
Wind Blowing Face - the only one blowing to the left and not in profile.
Christmas Tree - we don't need no damn ornaments!
Ring - do they even have a carat number high enough for that size??
High-Heeled Shoe - actually Samsung is the only one considerate enough to give you a whole pair
Alembic - wait wtf is an alembic? it's penis shaped right?
Eggplant - it's supposed to be used for a penis right? stand it straight up!
posted by numaner at 5:28 PM on April 26, 2017 [7 favorites]


As someone who has been using a Samsung device for over a year in blissful ignorance, i would like to thank this thread for opening my eyes. And then making me want to close them again, so as to hide from the emoji. ๐Ÿ˜ฌ
posted by eykal at 5:38 PM on April 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


I like that Google just made all their emoji faces Sontarans ๐Ÿ˜ 
posted by jason_steakums at 6:00 PM on April 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


I guess emoji will create groups of people who can easily and clearly communicate emotions within the group, groups made up of users of a certain brand of phone.

Do you think that in 100 years, those groups will be at war?
posted by tybstar at 6:00 PM on April 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


Til I thought I was sending cute flirty sideways smiles to people when in reality I was rolling my eyes at them. So this is why I'm still single.
posted by book 'em dano at 6:01 PM on April 26, 2017 [4 favorites]


Hm...so on my Samsung phone I seem to seeing the right emoji in this thread, which maybe is a Firefox thing? How would I even know.
posted by maxwelton at 6:27 PM on April 26, 2017


My #1 is always ๐Ÿค”. Which I kind of use like Fourth Wall Breaking Halpert Face. I feel like maybe that makes me old. ๐Ÿ˜ฌ is 2nd or 3rd but connotes more teeth-grinding anxiety. So actually I guess I'm going to print out this comment for my therapist and save years of discussion.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 6:31 PM on April 26, 2017


I'm looking at this post on a Samsung phone and I am SO ANNOYED
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:57 PM on April 26, 2017 [7 favorites]


None of them capture the true essence of a facepalm like a Picard.

I hope that some day Paramount, the Roddenberry estate, Patrick Stewart, and/or whoever gives their permission to add the Picard to Unicode. :picard: ranks high among custom emoji in my workplace's Slack.
posted by mubba at 7:12 PM on April 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


Metafilter: ๐Ÿ˜ฌ
posted by mazola at 7:49 PM on April 26, 2017 [3 favorites]


I guess emoji will create groups of people who can easily and clearly communicate emotions within the group, groups made up of users of a certain brand of phone.

This was discussed previously on the blue!
posted by Emily's Fist at 8:01 PM on April 26, 2017


๐Ÿฎ is my favorite. It's what I use to signify an affirmative response, as well as being back from break.

๐Ÿฎ is life.
posted by MissySedai at 8:09 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]


There is a difference between a one-hand facepalm and a two-hand facepalm, so there SHOULD be both.

I suspect that one of the most popular of this year's new emojis will be "Serious Face With Symbols Covering Mouth" aka"Swearing Face". But then, we already have the Middle Finger Gesture ๐Ÿ–•
posted by oneswellfoop at 8:11 PM on April 26, 2017


Samsung, เฒ _เฒ 
posted by azpenguin at 8:39 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]


No love for ๐Ÿ˜‚?
posted by exogenous at 8:48 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]


HOLY HELL, I never realized how terrible the Samsung ones are compared to others, since I've never had their smartphones. In most cases it looks like they're just going out of their way to be different.

To be fair, if they did do emojis that looked like the others, they'd be sued by Apple for about a billion dollars, and everybody would be talking about how terrible it was that they ripped Apple off. ๐Ÿ˜ฌ
posted by happyroach at 8:50 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]


However, this does explain my surprisingly high eggplant conversion rate for Samsung-based text recipients.
posted by nfalkner at 9:04 PM on April 26, 2017


I am in the market for a new phone and I am now thanking my lucky stars I went with a non-Samsung Android phone. THOSE EMOJI ARE AN AFFRONT TO NATURE
posted by invokeuse at 9:10 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]


๐Ÿ˜‚ is my most used, followed by ๐Ÿ˜ฌ and ๐Ÿ˜ฏ, or ๐Ÿ™Œ.
posted by apricot at 9:35 PM on April 26, 2017


Ooh look at you nonSamsung users, you are
feeling so ๐Ÿค—with your nonshitty emoji. ๐Ÿ˜ค
posted by gatorae at 9:52 PM on April 26, 2017


Am I alone in my love for ๐Ÿ™ƒ? For me it says "everything is fucked but oh well what can you do?" - or when used like this ๐Ÿ™‚๐Ÿ™ƒ๐Ÿ™‚๐Ÿ™ƒ๐Ÿ™‚๐Ÿ™ƒ it says I'm rolling the fuck away from this fucked up situation.
posted by cilantro at 11:54 PM on April 26, 2017 [5 favorites]


Hm...so on my Samsung phone I seem to seeing the right emoji in this thread, which maybe is a Firefox thing? How would I even know.

Some apps do use a different emoji set; for example on my Samsung phone, WhatsApp doesn't use the Samsung ones. Its possible Firefox uses a different set too.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 1:40 AM on April 27, 2017


Wallace.
posted by farlukar at 5:19 AM on April 27, 2017


โค๏ธ๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿ’—
posted by INFJ at 5:43 AM on April 27, 2017


Am I alone in my love for ๐Ÿ™ƒ?
The only one of my friends who uses it does so to convey "gentle whimsy perhaps with a hint of inversion of expectations but no snark whatsoever". Or I think he does, I don't even know anymore!

TIL you can't search WhatsApp groups for emojis.
posted by comealongpole at 6:15 AM on April 27, 2017


Oh god I didn't know that emoji could italicize! At least they do on my phone.

๐Ÿ†๐Ÿ’จ ZOOM!
posted by jason_steakums at 6:25 AM on April 27, 2017 [4 favorites]


๐Ÿ†๐Ÿ’จ ZOOM!

On my Win10 desktop w/Chrome, that looks like a dog farting a mushroom cloud while trying to walk (left) into a gale.

This whole "communication via emoji" thing may take a little smoothing out.
posted by Alterscape at 7:09 AM on April 27, 2017 [3 favorites]


Can I just chime in to say Samsung make great phones but they have the stupidest emoji.

The facebook one on the other hand looks like it will eat your soul...
posted by Hairy Lobster at 7:15 AM on April 27, 2017 [1 favorite]


 โ†’ or when used like this ๐Ÿ™‚๐Ÿ™ƒ๐Ÿ™‚๐Ÿ™ƒ๐Ÿ™‚๐Ÿ™ƒ it says โ€ฆ

On my desktop, single ๐Ÿ™ƒs come out okay, but when combined with ๐Ÿ™‚ turn out as weird little fellas sitting on top of a banner saying โ€œELITEโ€ like this. ๐Ÿ˜ฌ looks like this, aka the seldom-used emotion โ€œDaimler SP250 faceโ€.
posted by scruss at 8:26 AM on April 27, 2017


Crying Face - DOUBLE. TEARS.
I don't know, when I'm very depressed, the Samsung emoji is spot on. It's not about the tears that are flowing, it's the tears that are coming out really really slowly.

Anyway, the weirdest Samsung emoji has to be the turtle. That's not a turtle! That's a plastic bath toy!
posted by wwwwolf at 9:51 AM on April 27, 2017


I'm a fan of ๐Ÿ˜‘ for 'oh my fucking god I can't even'.

When that emoji is getting heavy use in the rolling, many-thousands-of-messages-long iMessage thread I have going with my wife, I know it's a rough week for one of us.
posted by Happy Dave at 12:25 PM on April 27, 2017 [1 favorite]


Am I the only one who is jealous that Samsung users can express when you're feeling Bitch Eating Crackers about someone so easily?

I've noticed that people say "crackers" as shorthand for that phenomenon in the Ask A Manager comments, I'm sure there's overlap with that crowd and MF.
posted by the thorn bushes have roses at 4:55 PM on April 27, 2017


CAT FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY
posted by beerbajay at 11:38 PM on April 27, 2017 [1 favorite]


I have some kind of weird emoji dysphasia which means they almost never look to me like whatever they're intended to look like. Like, I mean, I can tell that's supposed to be a face, it's not like it looks like a mailbox or something, but my mind would never, ever go to grimace without being told that's supposed to be a grimace. I'd sit there thinking ...

Dental examination? That seems unlikely.
Smile? But smile is another one, isn't it?
Your lips have been ripped off? Is this supposed to mean your lips have been ripped off? Is that a thing?
Oh, it's a skull! No, skulls have that pearshaped thing going ... it's the skull of a ... smiley face? It's a dead smiley face?
That seems right.
Dead smiley face.
posted by kyrademon at 3:18 AM on April 28, 2017 [1 favorite]


Anyway, the weirdest Samsung emoji has to be the turtle. That's not a turtle! That's a plastic bath toy!

Why is the facebook one so scared? And why is the emojidex one looks like it's flirting with me??
posted by numaner at 10:28 AM on April 28, 2017


hahaha wtf is wrong with Samsung's lizard? Like it just ate a giant bug and about to die?
posted by numaner at 10:28 AM on April 28, 2017


omg guys.

part 2 of wtf emojis, not just Samsung gets crazy, animal edition:

[Animals] - Microsoft clearly went back in time and hired an Aztec artist to make all their animal emojis. HTC (when it actually has its version) went for 2D abstract, which doesn't always work.

Crocodile - Samsung, that's not a crocodile, that's deevolved crocodile from like 20 million years ago. Twitter has never seen one that's not a diva.
Bird - Samsung likes to give their animals head tumors. HTC has never see a bird, but it knows what emojis look like! Emojidex went ahead and got super specific with that cockatiel.
Owl - all the other owls are brown, but Samsung's is purple!
Duck - oh you mean the toy right? Samsung got that. Emojidex went specific again with the Pekin duck and now you're hungry for some roasted duck noodle soup.
Fish - I think HTC found a crossbreed between a fish and a leaf. Facebook's fish just saw some shit go down.
Blowfish - can we all just agree on whether it should be deflated or inflated? Also, Facebook, I'm concerned your animals are not being kept in the best condition because they always look scared or pissed off.
Mouse / Rat - Twitter and Mozilla have never seen a non-computer rat or mouse. And most of them just palette-swap the two. Facebook's differentiation is that a rat looks raggedy while a mouse looks super cute. Samsung, wtf is that mouse? Just WTF?
Horse - LG and Facebook are totally copying Apple. HTC has never seen a moving horse.
Dragon - A few of them have clearly watched too much DBZ, why is there a ball? HTC and Microsoft are the only ones that tried the western version.
Pig - Samsung and Twitter, those are piggy banks!
Tiger / Leopard - Samsung, that's a dog with stripes or spots. I take it back, Facebook, for once your animals looks happy. Google, I know you're just deriving off of your cat emoji, but just don't.
Elephant - Samsung, stop trying to be extra.
Goat - Facebook, stop giving your goat drugs.
Bug - Samsung's makes me think I'm on drugs.
Ox - Another sufferer of Samsung head tumors.
Octopus - Clearly some of them don't know where an octopus' mouth is.
Honeybee - Emojidex watched The Bee movie once too many times.
posted by numaner at 11:12 AM on April 28, 2017 [1 favorite]


TBF, most of those fish look like they just saw their kid taken by a hook. It's tough to be a fish.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 1:01 PM on April 28, 2017 [3 favorites]


Anybody know if "WOMAN LAUGHING WITH SALAD" has been proposed to the Unicode standards committee yet?
posted by ardgedee at 1:40 PM on April 28, 2017 [2 favorites]


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