noun: The unpleasant surprise you get when you choose a seemingly harmless emoticon from the static image palette only to see it animate into something tasteless after you've chosen it and sent it.
Alternate:
noun: An emoticon that looks harmless when viewed in the static image palette, but provides a nasty surprise when you select it and send it by animating into something tasteless.
Imagine my emoticonsternation when that smiley face I sent to my mom turned out to be a bloody horrorshow.
I got fired when I accidentally sent my boss an emoticonsternation.
Vt. The act of misleading or tricking someone while communicating via email or Messenger, by using emoticons to imply that statements are not true or not as serious as they really are.
Jane's boss is emoticonning her. He emails here about head office plans RE her team, but then ends his sentences with winks. So, Jane is convinced that all these big plans are just talk.