WhatsApp: What does the crossed fingers emoji mean?
Crossing your fingers to wish good luck is very common nowadays. Learn about the history of this popular emoji!
Emojis came to reinvent the form of written communication between people, especially with the appearance of social networks and instant messaging services, where words, phrases, emotions or expressions can be replaced with graphic symbols that are generally divided into six categories including yellow faces, food, animals, weather, numbers and symbols. This is the case of the crossed fingers emoji.
The icon shows a hand facing forward with the index finger above the middle finger. It is generally used to wish luck or favorable results, just like in real life.
The gesture applies for the same meanings as in everyday life, even with the lie. Children often hide their hands behind their backs with their fingers crossed when promising something that they will not fulfill, although in WhatsApp and social networks it is applied very rarely.
All manufacturers of web services, operating systems or devices can create Emoji designs according to their own corporate style and vision, so the emoji is shown with an additional finger on Samsung devices.
Some anthropologists point to its origin in Christianity, since they associate the gesture with the fact of forming a cross with the fingers. This would make sense if you wish luck, or rather protection from bad omens with the help of Christ.
On the contrary, other experts attribute the gesture to superstitious customs, which in pagan terms would mean perfect unity, so that good spirits will be found when performing this action. The crossing of fingers would be a symbol to attract good energy.
Crossed Fingers was approved as part of Unicode 9.0 in 2016 under the name “Hand With Index and Middle Fingers Crossed” and added to Emoji 3.0 that same year.
