emoticon The trouble with online chat, postings, and email is that anything said in them is open to misinterpretation. Emoticons are clusters of punctuation such as : ) and : > that are used to set the tone for the sentence that precedes them. The knack to interpreting them is to tilt your head sideways to the left and look for a facial expression. Here's a brief rundown of the less ridiculous emoticons: : ) a grin :-) another grin :-( a frown ;-) a wink : > a wicked grin @--->--->- a long-stemmed rose See also: <g>, <gd&r>