frowny face

frowny face (plural frowny faces)

1. A simplified representation or emoticon representing a frowning face.

   Synonyms: frowny, frownie

   • 2011 December 28, Ramona Emerson, “Emoticons At Work: Unprofessional Or Necessary Evil?”, in The Huffington Post:

     First off, smiley faces are the ONLY kind of emoticon allowed in business correspondence. No shocked faces. No winks. And no frowny faces. A frowny face is somehow inherently sarcastic, and is never a good way to convey actual sadness or sympathy.

   • 2016 March 24, Darryl Sterdan, “ZAYN’s ‘Mind of Mine’ and Gwen Stefani’s ‘This is What the Truth Feels Like’ top this week’s new music”, in The Toronto Star:

     Both halves feature lyrics that are so teen-girly they sound like they were written in pink ink in a padlocked diary with hearts and frowny faces for punctuation.

• smiley
• smiley face