clown face
Unicode: 1F921
Description
A yellow circular face with exaggerated features, resembling a clown. It has white makeup on its face, a red nose, and a wide, painted smile.
Group:
Smileys & Emotion > face-costume
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Typically represents silliness, humor, or playfulness. Can also be used to convey a sense of absurdity, ridiculousness, or to express that one is being 'clowned' or made fun of.
Backstory
This emoji was introduced in Unicode 9.0 (2016) as part of a broader set of emojis introducing more diverse facial expressions and roles. Clowns have a long history in various cultures as figures of entertainment, satire, and sometimes fear.
Usage Examples
- Expressing silliness: 'I'm such a clown today! 🤡'
- Indicating humor: 'That joke was hilarious 🤡'
- Describing absurd situations: 'This whole situation is a circus 🤡'
- Playfully teasing someone for acting foolish: 'Look at you acting like a clown 🤡'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Often associated with circuses, parties, and entertainment. Can also be used to denote someone acting foolishly or being outlandish.
East Asian culture:
May be less prevalent or carry slightly different connotations, possibly more related to pure entertainment or a funny character than ridicule.