The Brief: The word no, paired with a heart emoji, "no ❤️," is a way to shut something down with a hint of sass.
DEEP DIVE
“No ❤️” combines the negativity of rejection with the positivity of a heart emoji. The top Urban Dictionary entries on the term define it as “a passive aggressive way to say no, saying no in a judgmental way.” and “it’s just a funny way to say no.”
The emoji and text combination can hold a range of connotations including that someone is saying no lovingly or mockingly. “No ❤️” rose to popularity on Alt TikTok in 2020 and can now be found across social media platforms and in text chats.
it’s 5am and all i can think of is how I wanna meet my friends and drink wine but covid really said ‘no❤️’
— Nele 🌼 (@nelenotnelly) February 14, 2021
Govt: the vaccine is 100% safe! you should feel totally comfortable getting it!
Me: ok, gimme
Govt: no❤️
— Rachel McCartney (@RachelMComedy) February 12, 2021