[hudsonriver]

Odd question, but I want to ask before I make a mistake and confuse people!

Do most British people know what "xoxo" means? I usually use it to sign off emails to friends and in the US it's commonly used - mostly by girls - when writing with affection. However, a British friend recently told me he was perplexed when I signed an email like this, saying he wasn't sure what it was (he thought maybe it was two faces of frustration - xo). He signs his emails with x or xx, typically, which isn't as common in the US.

So - in light of my impending move to the UK, should I change my sign off? Or can I assume that most will know what it means and my friend was just being daft?

Thx!

[munkie]

No, XOXO is rare here (although some people will know what it means).
Just use X - and don't overdo it, two is plenty.

[koop]

I thought xoxo etc refers to hugs and kisses ....................I think most people use xx

[Greig_R]

Everyone knows what xoxo means, hugs n kisses also xx as kiss kiss yh

[lella_m]

Yes, of course we do. We're not retarded.

[Fat-Love]

I'll admit I **** bricks when I found out it meant hugs and kisses - I originally thought it was the layout for a double barreled cannon with which the sender deliberately felt tempted to hurt me with. For a very long time I thought I had an uncanny ability to piss people off with even most of the kindest phrases like "hope you get better soon"

[hudsonriver]

(Original post by munkie)
No, XOXO is rare here (although some people will know what it means).
Just use X - and don't overdo it, two is plenty.

Thanks! I will at least certainly avoid using "xxx"

(Original post by koop)
I thought xoxo etc refers to hugs and kisses ....................I think most people use xx

It does, but it's so much more common here than xx or x. I think it's because here x has a negative connotation normally. Still, I'll change it up when dealing with British friends. I don't want them thinking I'm ending my emails with a silly face for some unexplained reason!

[hudsonriver]

(Original post by lella_m)
Yes, of course we do. We're not retarded.

No accusations about being retarded here - there are cultural differences that sometimes aren't widely known (I had to be told you guys didn't mean "fag" in a derogatory way, which is the ONLY way Americans know it). Even some people in this thread say they never use xoxo!

[Mr. Orange]

use

[Sephiroth]

I use xXx because it just looks better. It depends how much you like the person though.

[Disenchanted]

I used to sign off on msn with 'xoxo' but haven't for a few years, I would automatically know what you meant though. Its a lot more common to use only x's but using xoxo should be fine.

[shy-girl666]

xxx = kisses
oxoxox = hugs and kisses
then there's emotions faces such as :P XD :O ect....

hope it helps
xx

[hudsonriver]

(Original post by Lizia)
You can use xxx. I think most people do, if they're signing off an online message. In texts, one 'x' is most common (except to boyfriends when people do have a tendency to go mental sometimes). Online, there's no etiquette about how many to use, among me and my friends, three is common. I've never seen someone just put two

(Original post by shy-girl666)
xxx = kisses
oxoxox = hugs and kisses
then there's emotions faces such as :P XD :O ect....

hope it helps
xx

Oh no! But xxx means something very specific in the states - it's the common shorthand for pornography or "adult" material. I fear if I sign my letters as xxx it will come off less as "kiss kiss kiss, hudson river" and more like "porno, hudson river"

[sarahtownsend]

(Original post by hudsonriver)
Oh no! But xxx means something very specific in the states - it's the common shorthand for pornography or "adult" material. I fear if I sign my letters as xxx it will come off less as "kiss kiss kiss, hudson river" and more like "porno, hudson river"

Haha, I had the same reservations about the triple-kiss sign off when I first moved to the UK.

Also, my english boyfriend had no idea what I meant the first time I signed off with "xoxo" and now he uses it religiously. Such a convert!

[Haris.gul]

(Original post by hudsonriver)
Oh no! But xxx means something very specific in the states - it's the common shorthand for pornography or "adult" material. I fear if I sign my letters as xxx it will come off less as "kiss kiss kiss, hudson river" and more like "porno, hudson river"

Yeah well don't do it to everyone. Do it to your friends, so they can at least take the joke if xxx means porn. Otherwise just finish the email with two X's.

[$tar£reaker]

I think xoxo is very 90s
xxx is my order
unless it's one of my best friends when I go xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx but usually I put nothing down tbh

[w04andia]

Lol we know what it means. We just don't use it that much. I go crazy on the x's

[jellybeanjen]

XOXO just smacks of Gossip Girl reject to me, simply because that's the only time I've really heard it used here. Most of the time I'll use two or three kisses to sign of an email or text. It's a matter of preference though; most people will know what you mean either way.

[seniorlekedo]

xoxo is better..

x0x0

[watt]

Are there any girls that don't use kisses? I don't think I can find one on my facebook that doesn't.