# What do "those darn kids these days" mean by \<3?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-those-darn-kids-these-days-mean-by-3/283881>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 9, 2005, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-those-darn-kids-these-days-mean-by-3/283881 "2005-01-09T13:57:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 14\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2005, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-those-darn-kids-these-days-mean-by-3/283881/1 "2005-01-09T13:57:53Z")

</div>

I just got an e-mail from my friend’s teenaged daughter. She uses some of that crazy internet short hand that I’m not hip enough to understand.

What does “\<3” mean?

She uses it to say goodbye. 😕

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2005, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-those-darn-kids-these-days-mean-by-3/283881/2 "2005-01-09T14:06:06Z")

</div>

I believe it’s meant to show a valentine’s style heart sideways… in smiley fashion. connect the edges of the less than sign to the top and bottom of the 3 in your head and you should see it.

What you _do_ about it, on the other hand… 😃

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2005, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-those-darn-kids-these-days-mean-by-3/283881/3 "2005-01-09T14:10:17Z")

</div>

> [@chrisk](#):
>
> a valentine’s style heart sideways… in smiley fashion.

Thank god! I almost thought she was _mooning_ me! :eek:

Yes, valentine hearts are very much her style. This would make sense.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![\_cc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/e19b73/32.png) [@\_cc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_cc)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-those-darn-kids-these-days-mean-by-3/283881/4 "2005-01-09T17:17:14Z")

</div>

It’s too bad more people aren’t using Unicode. ❤ 🙂

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-those-darn-kids-these-days-mean-by-3/283881/5 "2005-01-09T17:57:36Z")

</div>

> [@'\[cc](#):
>
> ']It’s too bad more people aren’t using Unicode. ❤ 🙂

FYI, that heart shows up for me quite well on the board, but in the thread subscription mailer I got at yahoo mail, it shows up as three different symbols one after each other:

- a lowercase letter ‘a’ with a caret accent on it.
- a superscripted ‘tm’ (presumably for trademarks)
- A capital ‘Y’ with some bars across it, possibly the Yen symbol

🙂

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![The\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9bd4f/32.png) [@The\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Cat)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-those-darn-kids-these-days-mean-by-3/283881/6 "2005-01-09T22:12:17Z")

</div>

you know i always thought that thing was a clown hat or a slice of pizza.

probably could have gotten laid if I would have known the truth 3 monthes ago.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2005, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-those-darn-kids-these-days-mean-by-3/283881/7 "2005-01-09T22:48:46Z")

</div>

> [@bienville](#):
>
> Thank god! I almost thought she was _mooning_ me! :eek:

(_Y_)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-those-darn-kids-these-days-mean-by-3/283881/8 "2005-01-10T07:16:50Z")

</div>

Uh, um, thanks, **Jenaroph**. I think.

Damn, that’s a flat ass.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-those-darn-kids-these-days-mean-by-3/283881/9 "2005-01-10T10:54:31Z")

</div>

That \<3 thing confused the hell out of me the first time I saw it. I was talking to my girlfriend via AIM, and as we were finishing up…

Her: I love you! \<3  
Me: ???  
Her: What?  
Me: You love me less than three?  
Her: Huh? It’s a heart.  
Me: Oh. Well, still. I love _you_ \>3. So I win.

…she was not amused.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-those-darn-kids-these-days-mean-by-3/283881/10 "2005-01-10T13:05:20Z")

</div>

I think we can only go so far with this, we can \<3 and (_Y_) all we want, but uh add some o 's to the the moon and I think we get a little uh… non PG rated. 🙂

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-those-darn-kids-these-days-mean-by-3/283881/11 "2005-01-10T13:46:50Z")

</div>

> [@bienville](#):
>
> Thank god! I almost thought she was _mooning_ me! :eek:

Didn’t someone claim that was the origin of the ‘heart’ shape? I can’t remember if there was any truth in it though.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-those-darn-kids-these-days-mean-by-3/283881/12 "2005-01-10T13:51:13Z")

</div>

> [@chrisk](#):
>
> FYI, that heart shows up for me quite well on the board, but in the thread subscription mailer I got at yahoo mail, it shows up as three different symbols one after each other:
> 
> - a lowercase letter ‘a’ with a caret accent on it.
> - a superscripted ‘tm’ (presumably for trademarks)
> - A capital ‘Y’ with some bars across it, possibly the Yen symbol
> 
> 🙂

Logical: If somebody \<3’s you, that person’s feelings ™ can be decribed à la having a yen for you! 😃

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-those-darn-kids-these-days-mean-by-3/283881/13 "2005-01-10T14:09:42Z")

</div>

> [@Roland Orzabal](#):
>
> That \<3 thing confused the hell out of me the first time I saw it. I was talking to my girlfriend via AIM, and as we were finishing up…
> 
> Her: I love you! \<3  
> Me: ???  
> Her: What?  
> Me: You love me less than three?  
> Her: Huh? It’s a heart.  
> Me: Oh. Well, still. I love _you_ \>3. So I win.
> 
> …she was not amused.

Awww. Sweet _and_ geeky, all at the same time! How could she not have been amused? Why don’t you send her a rose:

@-----

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-those-darn-kids-these-days-mean-by-3/283881/14 "2005-01-10T21:22:25Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> @-----

Amateur. Back in my IRC days, roses were more like **@\>}—`--,--`----**. I was also known to give out daffodils, carnations, tulips, bachelor’s buttons, and a variety of others, but then, I was a bit more enthusiastic than most at ASCII gardening. 😉