# Emojis. A primer, a quiz, a question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 17, 2024, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emojis-a-primer-a-quiz-a-question/998946 "2024-03-17T13:44:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emojis-a-primer-a-quiz-a-question/998946/41 "2024-03-19T03:02:58Z")
Yeah, my wife had no idea that this was supposed to represent an engine. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emojis-a-primer-a-quiz-a-question/998946/42 "2024-03-19T11:38:13Z")
Hah! My **ex** -wife drove her relatively new Toyota Corolla down a friend’s messed up driveway, ripping off her oil pan. She drove the car until it would go no more. She got a ride home and told me where her car was sitting. She said it needed water. She knew that because of the red watering can that lit up on her dash. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emojis-a-primer-a-quiz-a-question/998946/43 "2024-03-19T16:50:28Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Yeah, my wife had no idea that this was supposed to represent an engine. In all fairness, that engine icon looks like an engine from 50 years ago. When was the last time your car had an engine with a belt-driven fan out front and a big round air cleaner on top? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emojis-a-primer-a-quiz-a-question/998946/44 "2024-03-19T16:55:18Z")
I don’t use a lot of emojis. There does not seem to be a common one for “engine” to assess progress. 🤔🤷‍♂️🫤💫 (What’s the deal with the last emoji? How can this mean confusion?) ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emojis-a-primer-a-quiz-a-question/998946/45 "2024-03-19T18:19:53Z")
In the UK there’s a road sign for traffic or speed cameras that looks like: ‘[https://www.pinclipart.com/picdir/big/44-442530\_cctv-clipart-traffic-camera-uk-speed-camera-sign.png](https://www.pinclipart.com/picdir/big/44-442530_cctv-clipart-traffic-camera-uk-speed-camera-sign.png)’ which seems rather funny. When was the last time anyone saw a camera with a bellows like that? Actually, I think my father might have had one when I was a very small child…? ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emojis-a-primer-a-quiz-a-question/998946/46 "2024-03-19T18:36:26Z")
We use plenty of symbols that depict objects of varying degrees of obsolescence: - Telephone handset - Floppy disc - TV with rabbit ears - Magnifying glass - Movie film frame - Boom box - Lozenge-shaped microphone ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emojis-a-primer-a-quiz-a-question/998946/47 "2024-03-19T18:44:22Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > In all fairness, that engine icon looks like an engine from 50 years ago. When was the last time your car had an engine with a belt-driven fan out front and a big round air cleaner on top? There’s also the fact that, like most people, I never see car engines except in their position underneath the hood (and even that only relatively rarely), and I don’t really register them as discrete entities separate from everything else that’s under the hood. So, if I didn’t already know what it represented, I’d have no clue what that was supposed to be a picture of. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emojis-a-primer-a-quiz-a-question/998946/48 "2024-03-19T18:49:39Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Try this, might work better. I got nothing but an ad to subscribe. > [@kayaker](#): > > I used to reply to many of my gf’s texts with “k”, meaning yes, okay, whatever. Some people believe that is rude, so I’ve switched to a 👍 thumbs up emoji. Yeah, I was told by someone a lot more “hip” than I am (which is about 90% of the population, just sayin) that “OK” is rude, and so is “k”. Either use Okay or “kk”. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emojis-a-primer-a-quiz-a-question/998946/49 "2024-03-19T19:48:48Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > What’s the deal with the last emoji? How can this mean confusion? Because it’s not an emoji. It’s a dashboard warning light. My 16 year old called it an emoji. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emojis-a-primer-a-quiz-a-question/998946/50 "2024-03-19T20:09:17Z")
I have done more driving in my time than most people. I’m not confused about the engine. I looked up emojis for “confusion” and got… 🤔🤷‍♂️🫤💫 …and didn’t understand 💫… dizzy, apparently ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emojis-a-primer-a-quiz-a-question/998946/51 "2024-03-20T12:44:45Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > …and didn’t understand 💫… I would have no clue what that was supposed to mean. My guess would have been “The more you know…” [![](https://cdn.theatlantic.com/thumbor/MLohW43SjM8-7WuJ677oJnB25-U=/0x105:1280x825/976x549/media/img/mt/2014/09/The_More_You_Know/original.png) ](https://cdn.theatlantic.com/thumbor/MLohW43SjM8-7WuJ677oJnB25-U=/0x105:1280x825/976x549/media/img/mt/2014/09/The_More_You_Know/original.png) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emojis-a-primer-a-quiz-a-question/998946/52 "2024-03-20T13:07:58Z")
Seriously. Now I know the more you know people are confused too. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emojis-a-primer-a-quiz-a-question/998946/53 "2024-03-20T16:36:34Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > …and didn’t understand 💫… > > dizzy, apparently I guess I can see that, like a cartoon character with stars circling their head. But I wouldn’t have gotten that just by looking at it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emojis-a-primer-a-quiz-a-question/998946.md?page=2)