What does lol mean?

Captain Kremmen

Captain Kremmen

All aboard, me Hearties!
Valued Senior Member
The letters stand for laughing out loud, and it used to mean that the person was amused,
but people use it all the time now in situations that have nothing to do with humour.
What do they mean by it?
 
lol is meant for something that was typed as ¨ironic¨ or ¨strong emotional amazement¨
 
Captain Kremmen said:
The letters stand for laughing out loud, and it used to mean that the person was amused,
but people use it all the time now in situations that have nothing to do with humour.
What do they mean by it?
Click to expand...

I use "lol" to mean that I'm amused, but also when I want to indicate to someone, that I'm trying to be a bit light hearted.
I reckon that I do use this too much, similar to my overuse of commas. :/
 
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wegs said:
I use to mean that I'm amused...
I reckon that I do use this too much, similar to my overuse of commas. :/
Click to expand...

lol

trashcat_410.jpg
 
youreyes said:
lol
Click to expand...

;)

well look what urban dictionary has to say about it, captain...


Original definition was "Laughing out loud" (also written occasionally as "Lots of Laughs"), used as a brief acronym to denote great amusement in chat conversations.

Now, it is overused to the point where nobody laughs out loud when they say it. In fact, they probably don't even give a shit about what you just wrote. More accurately, the acronym "lol" should be redefined as "Lack of laughter."

Depending on the chatter, its definition may vary. The list of its meanings includes, but is not limited to:
1) "I have nothing worthwhile to contribute to this conversation."
2) "I'm too lazy to read what you just wrote so I'm typing something useless in hopes that you'll think I'm still paying attention."
3) "Your statement lacks even the vaguest trace of humor but I'll pretend I'm amused."
4) "This is a pointless acronym I'm sticking in my sentence just because it's become so engraved into my mind that when chatting, I MUST use the meaningless sentence-filler 'lol.'"

I literally LOL when I read these. (and....'trashcat') oh my! :D
 
wegs said:
4) "This is a pointless acronym I'm sticking in my sentence just because it's become so engraved into my mind that when chatting, I MUST use the meaningless sentence-filler 'lol'."
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Although these days many people use "acronym" and "abbreviation" interchangeably, in proper use an acronym is an abbreviation with a phonetically compatible sequence of letters that allows it to be read as a word.

FBI is an abbreviation. Radar ("radio detection and ranging") is an acronym.

In the USA, "USA" is an abbreviation. In Hungary, it's an acronym pronounced OO-sha.

LOL will become an acronym when we start reading it the way we read the word "loll."
 
Fraggle Rocker said:
Although these days many people use "acronym" and "abbreviation" interchangeably, in proper use an acronym is an abbreviation with a phonetically compatible sequence of letters that allows it to be read as a word.

FBI is an abbreviation. Radar ("radio detection and ranging") is an acronym.

In the USA, "USA" is an abbreviation. In Hungary, it's an acronym pronounced OO-sha.

LOL will become an acronym when we start reading it the way we read the word "loll."
Click to expand...
Many people already pronounce it as an acronym, I often hear kids in the mall saying it as a word -- especially the plural forms (lolz or lols)

How do you pronounce LOL?
Wiktionary suggests that both el-oh-el and lawl/lohl (IPA /ˌɛlˌoʊˈɛl/, /lɑːl/, /loʊl/) are possible, but I’m wondering if there are some more fine-grained distinctions between when people say which pronunciations. Urban Dictionary gives lots of examples of words beginning with lol, but no pronunciation guides that I could find. Personally, I never use the lawl pronunciation (this sounds too American to my Canadian ears), but I do use both the spelled-out version and the one that sounds like loll as in loll about.

So when do I use which one? I would never pronounce each letter individually in a context where lol combines with something else. Common internet examples for this are LOLcat, lolwut, and lols/lolz. Other portmanteaux (lolmanteaux?) that I’ve used in very informal contexts but I’m not sure are as well-known are lolgasm, loltastic, and lolmazing.​
 
Well....I still prefer 'hahaha'....
Guess I'm old fashioned. :yawn:
 
youreyes said:
lol is meant for something that was typed as ¨ironic¨ or ¨strong emotional amazement¨
Click to expand...
I agree. People today use it as a method or means to show interest in a subject they lack interest in.

As in, "LOL, I can't believe that really happen."
As in, "WoW you have a dumb dog, lol."
As in, "That Hollywood actor is stupid lol."
As in, "LOL, I can't believe people are really that stupid."
 
I think I've got it now.
It means "Well I never", or "How interesting",
or any of the other things you might say in conversation to show you are attentive.
It does show amusement, but not ROFL level amusement.
You wouldn't say lol if someone said their close relative had died.
It's politeness really, expressing interest in what the other person is saying.

Have I understood it now?
Is lol now the most common word used in texting?
 
*********
I have had conversation with Israeli friends, whom would say "lol" in conversation as an expression of positive agreement.:cool::rolleyes:;)
:)
 
<< is very hesitant now, to utilize the oh so beloved "lol" on the forums here, after reading this thread.
 
I use LOL it in two situations...
- When texting a response to something that genuinely did make me laugh out loud - yes, I'm that old-fashioned.
- When being sarcastic among friends when someone is trying to be funny I might say "loll" but only in conjunction with an expression of distinct sarcasm.

There's also the possibility that it means what our dear PM (in the UK) thought it meant: Lots Of Love! :)
 
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