The new icon comes from the Unicode Consortium, the body that governs the emojis we get to use in our everyday texting lingo. One of the newest additions to the lineup is officially named “Face With One Eyebrow Raised,” but Consortium President and Co-Founder Mark Davis nicknamed the iconic yellow face the “Colbert emoji” in a tweet a few months back.
New emoji candidates >2016: DUMPLING, FORTUNE COOKIE, TAKEOUT BOX, CHOPSTICKS, & FACE WITH ONE EYEBROW RAISED (IMO, the Colbert emoji)
— Mark Davis ☕ (@mark_e_davis) January 28, 2016
And on Tuesday, the comedian decided to highlight his namesake face, demonstrating the various ways in which the emoji could be applied in conversations both on and offline. For example, when you’re “trying to be polite but worried that the elderly relative you’re talking to is going to say something racist,” or simply “elf exposing himself in the park,” it may be high time to raise an eyebrow while keeping an otherwise straight face.
Impressively enough, Colbert’s own rendition is the face is nearly identical to the computer generated image, making Davis’ nickname all the more appropriate. Ultimately, the Late Show host says, the emoji is meant to display “skepticism, accompanied by the concepts of disapproval and (mild) surprise,” so bear that in mind the next time you’re looking for the proper way to express yourself.
Sadly, you won’t be able to employ the Colbert emoji until 2017.
