Internet linguist Gretchen McCulloch featured in our Alphabetum V — Free Emoji project asked her followers on Twitter what emojis they use when conveying emotions aroused during the Covid-19 pandemic, the economic downturn, social distancing and the ensuing general revelations about life, the world and everything. The responses are a great case study on how our limited palette of emojis are being employed and combined in new ways, to depict our condition of being confronted with unprecedented challenges, and the disturbed emotions which leave us at a loss for words.

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has anyone figured out an emoji yet that's kinda opposite in tone to 😅?

like, where 😅 is sorta "that's awkward but it's fine", what's "this is funny but it's terrible"?

is that just 🙃? is there something else?

asking for a...rona

— Gretchen McCulloch (@GretchenAMcC) March 26, 2020