sign of the horns: dark skin tone
Unicode: 1F918 1F3FF
Description
A hand gesture showing the thumb and little finger extended, resembling a 'rock on' or 'hang loose' sign, with an extra dark skin tone.
Group:
People & Body > hand-fingers-partial
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Typically represents a 'rock on' gesture often associated with heavy metal music, or the 'shaka' or 'hang loose' sign originating from Hawaiian surf culture, conveying friendliness, solidarity, well wishes, or an appreciation for surfing/beach culture.
Backstory
The 'Sign of the Horns' emoji (1F918) was approved as part of Unicode 8.0 in 2015. The 'hang loose' or 'shaka' interpretation also emerged from this single emoji. The skin tone modifier (1F3FF) was also introduced around the same time, allowing users to customize the emoji to represent various skin tones. This specific combination (1F918 1F3FF) depicts the gesture with an extra dark skin tone.
Usage Examples
- Expressing enthusiasm for rock music: 'New Rammstein album! 🤘🏿'
- Greeting someone in a relaxed way (shaka): 'Aloha, dude! 🤘🏿'
- Showing solidarity or agreement: 'Yeah, I'm with you on that! 🤘🏿'
- Encouraging someone to chill out: 'Just hang loose, everything will be fine. 🤘🏿'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Frequently used in contexts related to rock music ('rock on') or 'metal horns.' In some regions, it can also be used as a 'hang loose' (shaka) sign.
East Asian culture:
Less commonly used for 'rock on' or 'hang loose,' usage may vary and might be interpreted differently or not recognized as widely for these specific meanings compared to Western cultures.
Hawaiian culture:
The 'shaka' sign, signifying 'hang loose' or 'take it easy,' is a very common and friendly greeting or farewell.