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    1. Culture
    2. Technology

    The secret x-rated meanings behind your favourite emojis

    The mailbox emoji isn't as innocent as you think.

    By Marie Claire
    Published 10 February 2017 In Features

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    The mailbox emoji isn't as innocent as you think.

    Words by Jadie Troy-Pryde

    Emojis have been a staple part of our text conversations for years now.

    Whether you desperately need to communicate your sass with the hair-flicking girl, or feel like giving the underrated octopus a bit of air time, there is quite literally something for everything.

    And it’s no surprise that the most popular emoji in the world is the classic cry laughing face. (Unless you’re British, Canadian or American, in which case it’s the extremely stressed face. Sorry.)

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    But did you know that a lot of your go-to emojis actually have a pretty x-rated meaning?

    There’s no need to explain why the aubergine is so popular (achem), and we’re well aware of the reason behind the peach emoji’s presence in many Instagram fitness posts (#bootygainz).

    Marie Claire Newsletter

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    However, some of these everyday emojis aren’t as innocent as they first appear.

    Let’s take a look at the emoji of the girl with her hands above her head.

    She probably makes an appearance when talking about your lifelong dream of becoming a ballerina, right? Well she’s actually meant to be having an orgasm.

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    And the smiley with the crossed eyes isn’t just extremely shocked – it has apparently seen something x-rated.

    Others that you may not have noticed are the circus tent with a flag, which is used to signal an erection; the microphone, which symoblises ejaculation; and the grapes, which aren’t just a delicious snack – they supposedly represent a man’s testicles.

    Erm, right.

    FYI, you can’t even use a mailbox emoji anymore because for some unknown reason, it means sex. Yes, really.

    So the next time you want to text your friend to tell them that you ate some grapes while at the circus, and finished off the night with some karaoke before dreaming of being a ballerina, maybe refrain from illustrating with emojis.

    Marie Claire
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