[Back to the full smiley list]

Forum Code 1	8-)
Forum Code 2	<bigeyes>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="bigeyes"/>
Smiley

The big eyes smiley means you're standing there, wide-eyed at something someone has just said. This might indicate amazement, but with a side dish of cheekiness - a kind of petulant astonishment, if that makes anything remotely approaching sense...

Forum Code 1	:-D
Forum Code 2	<biggrin>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="biggrin"/>
Smiley

Oh yes, what you're saying is just so darn amusing that it makes the normal smiley look like a grey day in an out-of-season seaside town. The only way to laugh louder than this is with a belly-stretching laugh!

Forum Code	<blue>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="blue"/>
Smiley

They might have originated in Chicago, but the blues have managed to spread everywhere, including h2g2. Celebrate the downside of life with a few too many drinks and a blue smiley. You know it makes sense.

Forum Code 1	@'.'@
Forum Code 2	<blush>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="blush"/>
Smiley

Said something that backfired? Want to look a bit embarrassed for effect? Then have a little blush... after all, blushing is not only a very human thing to do, it has a wonderful way of generating lots of sympathy for the blusher. Trust us. We know.

Forum Code	<bruised>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="bruised"/>
Smiley

If you've just come out of a Conversation feeling bashed and bruised, then don't sit there alone nursing your wounds - revel in them with the bruised smiley. It won't be long before a kind doctor or nurse comes along with tea and sympathy.

Forum Code	<cheerup>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="cheerup"/>
Smiley

When life's getting you down, you need cheering up. Take a look out of the window and enjoy the sunshine; go for a wander through a field or up a mountain; put something extraordinarily uplifting on the stereo; pop down the pub; read a good book; or hop onto h2g2, tell the world your woes, and watch those 'cheer up' smileys roll in. That's better!

Forum Code 1	B-)
Forum Code 2	<cool>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="cool"/>
Smiley

Shades. They make you cool. It's a fact. Don't fall into the trap, however, of thinking that sticking a few cool smileys in your Postings will suddenly make you the sultan of swing - being cool is genetic, and that's all there is to it.

Forum Code 1	X-|
Forum Code 2	<cross>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="cross"/>
Smiley

Two nuns get accosted by a gang of muggers. 'Show 'em your cross,' says one. says the other. (This joke is much cleaner with h2g2 smileys, don't you think? See - a smiley is a social conscience and a communications device rolled into one!)

Forum Code	<doh>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="doh"/>
Smiley

Few words can have slipped into the consciousness of the Western world as amiably as 'doh!' You know that something's popular when you can download it as a file to replace the error beep on your computer, but the h2g2 smiley of the same name is as quiet as a mouse, while having the same effect. We vastly prefer the silent version...

Forum Code 1	:-/
Forum Code 2	<erm>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="erm"/>
Smiley

Flummoxed? Don't know what to say? Then celebrate being tongue-tied with the erm smiley, probably one of the most useful and true-to-life smileys in the whole collection. It's great not to make sense!

Forum Code	<flustered>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="flustered"/>
Smiley

Getting wound up? Life beginning to turn from a peaceful, pastoral scene into mid-city traffic chaos? What you really need is a stiff drink, but failing that, you can really work up a lather by getting all flustered. Feeling better? Oh yes!

Forum Code	<groan>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="groan"/>
Smiley

Groans have many uses, from expressing considerable annoyance at the performance of one's favourite football team, to making sure your neighbours know you're having a really great time with your partner at 5am and have no intention of stopping... not even if your favourite football team suddenly scores an equaliser. What a versatile noise!

Forum Code	<grovel>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="grovel"/>
Smiley

Get down! Yeah, get down on your knees and kiss some serious turf! You know you've crossed that line, and you know you're going to have to do some serious feather smoothing if you're going to get away with it, so get into it! Grovel!

Forum Code	<grr>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="grr"/>
Smiley

The best emotions have nonsensical words to describe them, and grr is a great example. Get all red in the face, hot round the collar, and clench your teeth... and after three, growl away. One... two... three. Grr!

Forum Code	<headhurts>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="headhurts"/>
Smiley

Yeah, it can really get to you, all this thinking. We recommend you switch off your mind for a while, and ignore everything. Go for a little lie down, put on some soothing music, and try to ignore the rest of the world. Alternatively, have a beer, put on some hardcore dance music, and forget about it that way. Whatever wets your whistle...

Forum Code	<huh>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="huh"/>
Smiley

Ignorance is bliss - well, have you ever seen a teddy bear look sad? Exactly! And you can celebrate the bliss of total ignorance by using the 'huh?' smiley at every opportunity. Sure, people might think you're rather stupid, but think of the comedy potential. You know it's worth the effort!

Forum Code	<ill>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="ill"/>
Smiley

Feeling under the weather? Looking for an excuse for your last Posting in which you tried to convince the world that cute puppy dogs should all be exterminated, with absolutely no exceptions? Blame it on the bug - get ill, and get sympathy!

Forum Code	<injured>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="injured"/>
Smiley

If you've just come out of an online discussion reeling from the force of the argument, tell the world how you feel. Wrap a bandage round your head, puff up your left eye to make it look like you've been taken out by a right hook, and whinge. Yeah! Feels great, doesn't it?

Forum Code	<love>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="love"/>
Smiley

Do you remember that feeling when you first laid eyes on that special person? Or when you gazed at your newborn? That warm, shocking, 'I can't live without this person' type of feeling? That's love, that is!

Forum Code	<loveblush>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="loveblush"/>
Smiley

It starts in your stomach, and doesn't go away. Slowly it spreads upwards, finally reaching your brain, making your pupils dilate and your mouth spout incessant rubbish. You're in love! And that love blush is just the start...

Forum Code	<online2long>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="online2long"/>
Smiley

Is there such a thing as being online too long? Hell, yes - it's when you get drunk on virtual beer, end up going back to a fellow Researcher's virtual house for virtual coffee, end up playing virtual Twister and wake up with a virtual hangover and a virtual sense of guilt. Would you do this in real life? (Actually, don't answer that...)

Forum Code 1	:-(
Forum Code 2	:(
Forum Code 3	<sadface>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="sadface"/>
Smiley

Hey, life's full of disappointments, and the sad smiley is the first step on that rocky road towards the blues and tears. If you see someone using this smiley, give them a quick hug to cheer them up. Failing that, a quick tickle often helps. See! They're smiling already!

Forum Code	<silly>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="silly"/>
Smiley

If life was serious, we'd get bored of it well before puberty struck (which, as we're sure you'll agree, redefines the whole concept of 'interesting'). Discover the child within and get stupid with our silly smiley - it's more fun than working!

Forum Code	<sleepy>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="sleepy"/>
Smiley

If we were feeling amusing, this is where we'd say something like 'Welcome to the sleepy smiley, the smiley you can use when you're feeling so tired you're about to fall asl... zzz.' However, we're the sort of people who get ratty when they're tired, so instead we're not going to make any jokes about the sleepy smiley. So there.

Forum Code 1	:-)
Forum Code 2	:)
Forum Code 3	<smiley>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="smiley"/>
Smiley

The original smiley, complete with a grin that makes you wonder exactly what they put in the water round here. Use this smiley when you're feeling happy and want the world to share in your good fortune and humour. Spread the word!

Forum Code	<sorry>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="sorry"/>
Smiley

If you said something you didn't mean to, don't let the emotional wounds fester. Go and say sorry, it's not so hard to do! You will both feel better in no time...

Forum Code	<steam>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="steam"/>
Smiley

You'll note that the h2g2 steam smiley has clouds of steam emanating from his ears. This is because he's getting all frustrated and pent up emotions are wracking his brain. But don't worry: the steam thing is a metaphor, not reality. Just thought we'd point that out before the Smiley Protection Agency drops the Towers by for a personal visit.

Forum Code	<ta>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="ta"/>
Smiley

Want to say thank you to your fellow Researchers, the Editorial team or the world? Then use the two little letters that mean the world!

Forum Code 1	:-P
Forum Code 2	<tongueout>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="tongueout"/>
Smiley

You know your mother told you that if you stuck your tongue out and the wind changed, then your face would stay like that forever? We don't want to shatter anyone's dreams, but how many people do you see with their tongues permanently stuck out? Not many. So what does that say about your mother's theory? After three: 'One, two, three - it's baloney!' Precisely.

Forum Code	<wah>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="wah"/>
Smiley

Apparently it's very healthy to get in touch with your inner child, especially if it leads to a bit of primal screaming. So spit out your dummies and get bawling... just try not to imitate every aspect of a petulant child, because you're the one who's got to put your own toys back into the pram, and no amount of crying will change that fact.

Forum Code	<weird>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="weird"/>
Smiley

Being really weird is almost an art form, and h2g2 excels at being really weird. Where else can you find such a bizarre yet friendly collection of space cadets, fruitcakes, nutters, loonies, crackpots, oddballs, eccentrics and day trippers? Absolutely!

Forum Code 1	;-)
Forum Code 2	;)
Forum Code 3	<winkeye>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="winkeye"/>
Smiley

Said something cheeky? Don't want to get a slap? Then stick a winking smiley in your Posting and use the age old excuse 'but I put a winking smiley in there!' to avoid grief. However, don't think your scam will go forever unnoticed; the h2g2 Community are a pretty canny bunch, you know.

Forum Code	<wow>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="wow"/>
Smiley

Up there with 'Cor!', 'Zowee!', 'Gadzooks!' and 'Blimey guv, lor luv a duck!', 'Wow!' is one of the all time cool words. The Oxford English Dictionary defines 'Wow!' as 'expressing astonishment or admiration', but that definition is on the same page as 'work ethic', so we'd advise you take that definition with a pinch of salt.

Forum Code	<yikes>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="yikes"/>
Smiley

The word 'Yikes!', which is the noise you make when expressing shock for a humorous effect, should not be confused with the word 'Yoicks!', which is used by fox hunters to urge on their hounds. Luckily, typing <yoicks> into h2g2 will get you absolutely nowhere, which is rather apt, we think.

Forum Code	<yuk>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="yuk"/>
Smiley

Don't like something? Then say so! Stick a yuk smiley in your Postings and everyone will know that you think they're being icky. That assumes they know what 'icky' means, of course, but if they don't, simply revel in your superior knowledge. You can't lose!

Forum Code	<zen>
GuideML Tag	<SMILEY TYPE="zen"/>
Smiley

Calm. Serene. Peaceful. After three, chant your mantra: Om a hom, vajra guru, padhma siddhi om! Slowly your mind clears, and the cares and worries of the world of samsara slip away, leaving just you and the cosmos to commune. And if you haven't got the patience to meditate yourself, let our smiley do it for you. Definitely chilled out...