The message is that the person who sent you the note wants to hug you
and kiss you, and more! This is a string of "abbreviated signoffs,"
which are often used in chatrooms and instant messaging. The x's and
o's represent hugs and kisses. The y's stand for "making out" that
goes beyond kissing. Below is a partial list of these abbreviations.
"These days it's quite common for messages on social-oriented bulletin
boards to end with signoffs like "Hi and hugs to everybody." In fact,
this has become so popular that as much as 7.5% of the disk space on
some BBS's is currently devoted to this particular comment. The
International Committee for Relatively Pointless Abbreviations and
Badly Misspelled Acronyms (SPUDS) has just released a new,
internationally approved list of abbreviated signoffs. These include:
ooo = hugs
xxx = kisses
OOO = big hugs
XXX = big kisses
oo = hugs for everybody but you
OO! = big, excited hugs
CCC = hugs for people you can't quite reach around
OOQ = hugging with tongue
xx@ = kisses and earlobe nibbling
zzz = snoring
yyy = anything that occurs between kissing and snoring"
Net Funny: Extended Sign-Off Mnemonics
http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/90q4/hugsf.html
Here is an interesting explanation of how 'x' came to represent a
kiss:
"One theory holds that the X stands for a kiss because it originally
represented a highly stylized picture of two mouths touching -- x.
Furthermore, in early times illiterates often signed documents with a
St. Andrew's cross of X and kissed that X to show their good faith (as
they did with any cross or the Bible, which reinforced the
association). But these explanations may be folk etymology, as may the
story that mathematically the X is a 'multiplier' -- in this case of
love and delight." From the "Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins"
by Robert Hendrickson (Facts on File, New York, 1997)."
The Phrase Finder Discussion Forum
http://phrases.shu.ac.uk/bulletin_board/11/messages/637.html
Here is another version of the origin of x as a symbol for a kiss:
"Valentine's Day greetings often include a string of XXX to represent
kisses. During the Middle Ages those who could not write their names
signed legal documents with an "X". The signing was witnessed and
"sealed with a kiss" on the "X". The "X" eventually came to symbolize
the kiss."
Living History: Love in the Middle Ages
http://www.livinghistory.co.uk/general/history/xw_138.html
Here's a typical use of the x's and o's in a valentine. No y's in this
one, though. (Beware of midi music on this page.)
Nana Ellen's Stories and Stuff
http://www.nanaellen.com/village/feb/xxoo.htm
And here are some x's and o's on a message board:
"Sue, you are friendly, I can see that.
Unfortunately there are others who don't.
: XXX = Kisses
: ooo = Hugs"
Thin Lizzy's Starting Point Web Board
http://www.stormloader.com/thinlizzy/wwwboard/1178.html
My Google search strategy:
"xxx" + "ooo"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=xxx+ooo
Thanks for asking an interesting question! If anything I've said is
unclear or incomplete, or if any of the links do not function, please
request clarification before rating my answer.
Best wishes,
pinkfreud |
