Puzzling Old School Smilies

[Chesterton]

I've never known what certain "old school smiles" are supposed to indicate. I've asked other members about them a couple of times and they didn't know either. Can anyone explain what any of the below smilies mean?

 

[Sam91]

Nope, you are correct. They are confusing!

 

[Angeldove97]

= I'm so lonely
= Begging
= praying for something good
= Embarrassed
= that is so adorable /admiring something
= Embarrassed
= awkward situation

They're based on Japanese anime ~ pretty common ways to show different emotions.

 

[A_Thinker]

I've never known what certain "old school smiles" are supposed to indicate. I've asked other members about them a couple of times and they didn't know either. Can anyone explain what any of the below smilies mean?

I would have guessed ...

writing in the dirt
singing God's praises
beating the drum
sleeping the day away
hopelessly in love
so embarrassed
experiencing an ice-headache

 

[faroukfarouk]

Nope, you are correct. They are confusing!

Sometimes they turn out to mean something rather different from what the poster supposedly meant!

 

[Chesterton]

Thanks for that. I guess this guy is embarrassed because a bird pooped on his head?

= Embarrassed

 

[2PhiloVoid]

I've never known what certain "old school smiles" are supposed to indicate. I've asked other members about them a couple of times and they didn't know either. Can anyone explain what any of the below smilies mean?

...I believe this one means something like, "It's over my head!"

 

[Chesterton]

Here's my take:

I'm employed as an ant counter.

I like licking my hand while staring at the ceiling.

I'm a lonely hippie; no one else ever joins my drum circles.

Help! My body is twitching while my head is held secure in a vice!

I say "no" to everyone.

I have a rectangular tongue and a very serious skin condition.

 

[Nithavela]

: Bashfullness (nervously writing in the sand because you can't spit something out)


: Gloating laughter (this laughing with raised hand is a classic anime way of showing a character who thinks herself superior and princess-like. Yes, it's most often a girl. The hand signifys a fan that would be used to symbolically hide the laughter without actually hiding it, thus rubbing it in even further.)

: Meditating (that brown thing is not a drum, it's a singing bowl)
: Infatuation (blushing and stary eyed)
: Bashfull reaction to a compliment
: A blue face, the facial expression and the sweat drops all signify utter shock
: The sweatdrop, dark forehead and expression signify embarassement, while the eagle in the background is a visual cue for an eagle screaming in the background. My best guess would be "awkward silence"

 

[Nithavela]

Sometimes they turn out to mean something rather different from what the poster supposedly meant!

 

[Angeldove97]

: Meditating (that brown thing is not a drum, it's a singing bowl)

I said drum because of the hand movement- pounding up and down on a flat surface.

A singing bowl has the "baton" or whatever go around and around the bowl. Or it only struck from the side, never on top.

 

[Nithavela]

I said drum because of the hand movement- pounding up and down on a flat surface.

A singing bowl has the "baton" or whatever go around and around the bowl. Or it only struck from the side, never on top.

Still looks like some sort of prayer or meditation with the hand gesture, the kneeling and the closed eye and mouth movements.