# Did you know this meaning of "88"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 7, 2014, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523 "2014-07-07T10:52:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/61 "2014-07-07T20:46:18Z")
I knew about it, don’t give a shit. 88 has plenty of meanings. In Cantonese culture, 8 is good luck - and the more 8s the better. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/62 "2014-07-07T20:57:04Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Addendum: meant to add - it’s not a two-way symbol. Not every use of “88” means neo-nazi, but every use of “88” BY neo-nazis is a sign. So knock off the ignorance about not being able to drive Buick 88s, okay? The hell with Buicks. 18 could also be represented as A8. Audi is out there making Nazi cars. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/63 "2014-07-07T20:58:40Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > The hell with Buicks. 18 could also be represented as A8. Audi is out there making Nazi cars. Not to mention playing the card game “Crazy 8s”. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/64 "2014-07-07T21:13:19Z")
Ha. I was the 88th person to vote yes. Anyway, we’ve had some racist users come and go here over the years that have used 88 in their names. They usually try to pull the usual crap about how they’re not racist, but… blah blah blah. There have been plenty that combine the 88 with a double-H name. It’s really obvious once you know about it. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/65 "2014-07-07T21:14:00Z")
I hadn’t heard the racist meaning until reading the “What Nazis ruined in Germany” thread today. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/66 "2014-07-07T21:38:18Z")
Even though I posted this in post #2: > [@](#): > > Any time I see an internet user name such as JoeBlow88 I’m suspicious even though it’s just as likely to be someone’s year of birth or something equally innocent. I just want to make it clear that I am aware of a current poster with eight eight (the auto nanny won’t let me write \*\*? WTF?) in his user name and I’m sure I’ve run across others over the years. I’m only momentarily suspicious and I want to let the current user here know that I don’t think he is a neo-Nazi because his posting history makes it clear that he isn’t. That is all. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/67 "2014-07-07T22:16:17Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Even knowing the association with neo-Nazis, the only association I would make with Rocket88 is that old blues tune. Sure, but like I said, the name just didn’t suit me, even without considering the Nazi connection. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/68 "2014-07-07T22:24:18Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It has a dual meaning. In addition to standing for HH, it also stands for an 88 word excerpt from Mein Kampf: See, when I first heard it was associated with Neo-Nazis years ago, I had assumed it was due to [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8.8_cm_Flak_18/36/37/41). Weird the associations the mind comes up with. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/69 "2014-07-07T22:57:07Z")
Hmmm, now I need to rethink the [Bagger 288](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azEvfD4C6ow) made by Krupp. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/70 "2014-07-07T23:08:03Z")
I always thought “88” was for luckiness in Chinese culture. I did not know until now it’s Nazi connection. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/71 "2014-07-07T23:10:00Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > No, it’s not. > I suppose it could be, but it’s not commonly use that way at all. To me, and to those I know, it had no nazi significance at all. Your claiming that it isn’t doesn’t mean that it isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/72 "2014-07-07T23:45:29Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Your claiming that it isn’t doesn’t mean that it isn’t. Your claiming that it does doesn;t mean it does.😛 Look, everything has some hidden or secret meaning to _some_ group of idiots. Why are we going to let them take over an innocuous number? We can’t use the Number’s 3 or 6 or 7 or 13 anymore due to their arcane significance for Satanists or whatever?:rolleyes: It’s better to ignore them. Starting this thread just gives them publicity. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/73 "2014-07-07T23:51:38Z")
Nobody ever, anywhere in this thread, said we can’t use “88”, but on what do you base your contention that it isn’t used as a Nazi code? ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/74 "2014-07-08T01:00:55Z")
I had no idea. I associate the number first with the keys on a piano, and then with “Rocket 88,” the first rock’n’roll song (by some accounts). ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/75 "2014-07-08T01:58:08Z")
I knew about it. Playing something like _Battlefield 4_ online it seems to be a pretty common number added to the end of user names. While I’m sure there are plenty of 26 year-olds playing who add it to their name for their year of birth, there are a small, but noticable number, who are unambiguously\* using in the way the Hitler-huggers do. \*BF4 allows you to have your own personal emblem as a decal on equipment - tanks etc. - I’ve seen a few of the ‘88’ types with a swastika or other Nazi-themed symbols as their emblem. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/76 "2014-07-08T02:08:47Z")
I first heard of those numbers in the late 90s. For some reason I used to like to have IM/message board debates with neo nazis. I was young, idealistic, and thought highly of my debating and persuasion skills. So I used to talk to people like Matt Hale and try to convince them how wrong they were. These people would greet or signoff conversations with some variation of 88, 14, RAHOWA, etc. I also read SPLC stuff and hung around the fringes of some minor political party orgs circa 1996-2002 that included quite a cast of mentally ill and notorious characters, including self described anti-racist socialists and liberal anarchists who became nazi leaders. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/77 "2014-07-08T06:52:01Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > in ham radio various things are abbreviated or symbolized for brevity which is especially useful with Morse code. > > 88 means ‘love and kisses’. XOXOXO, Your Fuhrer ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/78 "2014-07-08T16:15:22Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Nobody ever, anywhere in this thread, said we can’t use “88”, but on what do you base your contention that it isn’t used as a Nazi code? Every number is used as a “code” by someone. The issue is- is the code so common we should care? In this case, the answer is **NO**! ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/79 "2014-07-08T18:08:49Z")
I didn’t know until that GQ thread. Which is problematic for me since I use my HS class number at the end of several of my user names. So I’m (username)88 in a lot of places. Glad that they’re all anonymous. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523/80 "2014-07-08T18:54:22Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > in ham radio various things are abbreviated or symbolized for brevity which is especially useful with Morse code. > > 88 means ‘love and kisses’. That’s what it means to me. I guess I’m old-school. Either that or “TWO FAT LADIES!” (I always thought that one odd, since they’d wasp-waisted fat ladies.) > [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > I wonder if Neo nazis are fond of Oldsmobiles. lol So, a username with 88 in it could be a ham radio fan, an Olds fan, someone born or graduated in '88, a piano player, or a Nazi sympathizer. Or a bunch of other things. So, it may be a racist code, but it’s not always a racist code. I play piano, maybe I should put 88 in my handles! In general, I bet it’s pretty clear from context when it’s a Nazi sympathizer. No decoding is really necessary, though it might offer a possible clue. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-this-meaning-of-88/692523.md?page=5)