What it doesn't mean
It can be, but its everyday use is as an acknowledgement, 'got it, on it', and as a mock-solemn farewell. Emojipedia compares it to 'o7', a gamers' text salute.
Respect is the root, but much of its use is ironic: saluting a doomed plan, a dead phone battery or your own bad decisions.
What it really means
🫡 is a salute, and like a real salute it can mean deep respect or the opposite of enthusiasm, depending on the face behind it.
Saluting Face was added in Unicode 14.0 in 2021. It shows a yellow face with a hand raised to its brow. Emojipedia describes it as a sign of respect and compares it to "o7", a text salute popular in gaming communities. In everyday chat it often works as acknowledgement: understood, will do.
Its second meaning arrived quickly. In late 2022, Emojipedia notes, it went viral on Twitter after news that the company would sharply cut its staff, and ironic salutes to a bad situation became one of its standard uses. Now 🫡 is the emoji for facing a doomed situation with dignity: the dying phone ("if I don't reply, it's been an honour 🫡"), the fourth meeting of the morning, the exam you didn't revise for.
That mix of sincerity and irony is what makes it useful. A salute is formal, so using it for something trivial is funny, but the respect underneath never quite disappears.
At work it is usually safe as a quick "got it". The risk is the ironic reading: to a manager who doesn't know the joke, a salute in reply to an instruction can look sarcastic, as if you were mocking the order. When in doubt, add a word: "On it 🫡".
Where it comes from
- 2021
Unicode 14.0 adds Saluting Face (U+1FAE1).
- Late 2022
It goes viral on Twitter after news that the company would sharply cut its staff (Emojipedia).
In real life
- 'Can you send the report by 3?' '🫡' — understood, will do.
- 'Phone's on 2%, if I don't reply it's been an honour 🫡' — mock-solemn farewell.
- 'Going into my fourth meeting of the morning 🫡' — brave, resigned, darkly amused.
Questions
Q01What does 🫡 mean?
Respect, or acknowledgement ('understood', 'on it'). It is also used for joking, resigned acceptance of something bad, as if saluting on a sinking ship.
Q02Is 🫡 OK to use at work?
Usually, as a quick 'got it'. Be aware it can read as playful or slightly ironic, so it suits casual workplaces better than formal ones.
Q03Why did 🫡 become popular?
It was new in 2021, and in late 2022 it went viral on Twitter after news that the company would sharply cut its staff, around the time its darkly funny 'it's been an honour' use became familiar.
Q04What is the official name of 🫡?
Saluting Face, code point U+1FAE1, added in Unicode 14.0 in 2021.
Sources
- Saluting Face — Emojipedia (Unicode 14.0 in 2021; respect, acknowledgement, 'o7'; ironic use during Twitter's staff reductions in late 2022).
- Emoji Versions chart — Unicode Consortium (lists it among 2021's new emoji).