# Does anyone have any idea what this symbol means?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-idea-what-this-symbol-means/737207
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 10, 2015, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-idea-what-this-symbol-means/737207 "2015-11-10T17:51:42Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Darth\_Ayebaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Ayebaw)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2015, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-idea-what-this-symbol-means/737207/1 "2015-11-10T17:51:42Z")
[ ](https://i.imgur.com/TdpqQvc.jpg)
Story I got from my grandma the other day was that decades ago he went to get a couple belts fixed or repaired back when the family was living on Maui, and when he went to pick them up the guy wouldn’t take his money, but gave him the repaired belts, which had the symbol in the image on them. Apparently he thought they were the symbol of some sort of brotherhood or something, but never bothered looking into it because he felt he was better off not knowing. The belts in question are WWII era Coast Guard belts, according to my grandma. Any ideas?
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### Author:  [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2015, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-idea-what-this-symbol-means/737207/2 "2015-11-10T17:58:10Z")
rotate it 90 degrees clockwise, it’s some sort of kanji symbol. No idea how to search for kanji characters.
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### Author:  [@Enilno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enilno)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2015, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-idea-what-this-symbol-means/737207/3 "2015-11-10T18:17:31Z")
Not kanji. Looks like it’s the Tibetan letter aum/om.
ཨྃ
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### Author:  [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2015, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-idea-what-this-symbol-means/737207/4 "2015-11-10T18:21:28Z")
It looks (without turning it 90 degrees) like Devangari script to me but there is no letter that looks like the “K”.
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### Author:  [@Enilno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enilno)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-idea-what-this-symbol-means/737207/5 "2015-11-10T18:32:27Z")
Oops, too late to edit, but pasted the wrong letter.
ༀ
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### Author:  [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-idea-what-this-symbol-means/737207/6 "2015-11-10T18:32:47Z")
> [@steronz](#):
>
> rotate it 90 degrees clockwise, it’s some sort of kanji symbol. No idea how to search for kanji characters.
Rotate it counterclockwise. Its a stick figure guy running with a line draw across the waist, problem symbolizing a belt.
But my first thought was that it wasn’t a symbol, it looks like someone wrote “YKO” in black marker.
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### Author:  [@Darth\_Ayebaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Ayebaw)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2015, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-idea-what-this-symbol-means/737207/7 "2015-11-10T18:44:00Z")
Not sure how clear it appears on the pic but there’s a straight vertical line to the left of the “y”-like symbol.
And if it is ‘aum/om’, any idea why the guy wouldn’t take his money for the repairs? What would be the meaning of the symbols in that context?
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### Author:  [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2015, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-idea-what-this-symbol-means/737207/8 "2015-11-10T18:53:18Z")
Looks like a surfer to me…
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### Author:  [@Enilno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enilno)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2015, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-idea-what-this-symbol-means/737207/9 "2015-11-10T19:15:36Z")
If it is Tibetan, then it may be intended as a Buddhist mantra. Could have been a symbol for some brotherhood I suppose, the letter does have mystical significance in more than one religion.
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### Author:  [@Kiber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiber)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2015, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-idea-what-this-symbol-means/737207/10 "2015-11-10T20:12:37Z")
> [@jayjay](#):
>
> Looks like a surfer to me…
Agreed - rotate and it’s a surfer on a board riding a wave. Which fits with the backstory.
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### Author:  [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2015, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-idea-what-this-symbol-means/737207/11 "2015-11-10T21:12:01Z")
Looks to me like a stylized monogram.
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### Author:  [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2015, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-idea-what-this-symbol-means/737207/12 "2015-11-11T00:31:40Z")
> [@Kiber](#):
>
> Agreed - rotate and it’s a surfer on a board riding a wave. Which fits with the backstory.
+1
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### Author:  [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-idea-what-this-symbol-means/737207/13 "2015-11-11T02:18:36Z")
> [@Darth\_Ayebaw](#):
>
> [Imgur: The magic of the Internet](http://i.imgur.com/TdpqQvc.jpg)
>
> Story I got from my grandma the other day was that decades ago he went to get a couple belts fixed or repaired back when the family was living on Maui, and when he went to pick them up the guy wouldn’t take his money, but gave him the repaired belts, which had the symbol in the image on them. Apparently he thought they were the symbol of some sort of brotherhood or something, but never bothered looking into it because he felt he was better off not knowing. The belts in question are WWII era Coast Guard belts, according to my grandma. Any ideas?
I find it curious that you refer to your grandma consistently with the pronoun, “he”.
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### Author:  [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2015, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-idea-what-this-symbol-means/737207/14 "2015-11-11T03:05:22Z")
> [@Darth\_Ayebaw](#):
>
> Not sure how clear it appears on the pic but there’s a straight vertical line to the left of the “y”-like symbol.
that does not look like part of the “monogram” to me - looks like different ink and writing implement.
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### Author:  [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2015, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-idea-what-this-symbol-means/737207/15 "2015-11-11T03:09:00Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#):
>
> I find it curious that you refer to your grandma consistently with the pronoun, “he”.
I assume the “he” was grandpa, and the story came from grandma telling what grandpa (he) did.
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### Author:  [@Darth\_Ayebaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Ayebaw)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2015, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-idea-what-this-symbol-means/737207/16 "2015-11-11T09:37:10Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#):
>
> I assume the “he” was grandpa, and the story came from grandma telling what grandpa (he) did.
Yeah, that’s right. Should’ve been more clear :smack: He died a few years back so I can’t get any more info from him directly unfortunately.
> [@j666](#):
>
> that does not look like part of the “monogram” to me - looks like different ink and writing implement.
Maybe, but it’s the only other such mark on the belt, and it’s still pretty close to the rest. It looks like it’s part of it to me, just has a dark type smudge over it.
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### Author:  [@AmanoJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmanoJ)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2015, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-idea-what-this-symbol-means/737207/17 "2015-11-11T10:54:51Z")
My first and only thought was that it was simply a signature of sorts for the leatherworker/repairman who did the work. Guessing all of the belts had the same symbol on them, with no variation?
Was your Grandfather known around the area in any way?
In any case, it’s pretty neat that you still have the belts to keep, along with an interesting story. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-idea-what-this-symbol-means/737207/18 "2015-11-12T19:29:06Z")
Random acts of benevolence are a Hari Krishna thing.
Of course, the repairer may have done it for free just because it was like a one minute job,
and he normally makes bags,jackets,saddles, furniture…
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### Author:  [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2015, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-idea-what-this-symbol-means/737207/19 "2015-11-12T23:23:22Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#):
>
> Rotate it counterclockwise. Its a stick figure guy running with a line draw across the waist, problem symbolizing a belt.
>
> But my first thought was that it wasn’t a symbol, it looks like someone wrote “YKO” in black marker.
All of this is what I thought.
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### Author:  [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2015, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-idea-what-this-symbol-means/737207/20 "2015-11-13T09:14:49Z")
I think we’ve discovered a secret society here.
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