Is it just me?

 

I've just caught up with the news that, for the first time ever, Oxford Dictionaries have chosen a "pictograph" as its word of the year. They say the "face with tears of joy emoji" best represents "the ethos, mood, and preoccupations of 2015". They go on to say that "Emoji culture has become so popular that individual characters have developed their own trends and stories. The image chosen shows the "playfulness and intimacy" of emoji culture".

 

Good grief. Is it just me or is that a load of populist dumbing-down tosh? The fact that they have chosen a 'Face with Tears of Joy' emoji and not a real word makes me feel like this:

Let's call this one the 'Face with Tears of Linguistic Despair' emoji. I wonder if they'll choose it as the word of the year for 2016?

 

However, it could also be

*  An entry into the 'Person Most Able to Cry Perpendicular Tears' competition

*  Proof that when you are bright yellow your tears look a different colour to everyone else's

*  Evidence that using too much blue eye shadow just before you watch the last episode of Downton Abbey is not a good idea

*  A reason to stop eating so many blueberries

*  Proof that even if you have no hair, if you cry like this, you get a beard of sorts.