The Blockers stars teach us their favorite Emoji secret meanings

Blockers is one of the funniest and raunchiest movies to hit theaters in a long time — just ask anyone. Seriously, anyone: SXSW attendees (where the movie had its big debut), EW’s own movie critic Chris Nashawaty, the cast and crew who were tasked with keeping a straight face with lines like “I just chugged a 40 with my a–hole” and “It’s something I saw in the romantic comedy American Beauty.”

The very R-rated comedy revolves around three high school seniors and BFFs — played by newcomers Geraldine Viswanathan and Gideon Adlon, as well as Big Little Lies‘ Kathryn Newton — who are determined to lose their virginity on prom night, even as their parents (John Cena, Leslie Mann, and Ike Barinholtz) do everything to stop them. #SexPact2018 is revealed to the parents — who may or may not be snooping — through a group text chain that uses Emojis in very specific ways.

It doesn’t take a genius to decipher what the eggplant or the donut mean in teen lingo, but one of Blockers‘ biggest running jokes revolves around the secret meanings for almost the entire Emoji alphabet — like the tree as marijuana or the hands up as “Yaas Queen!” When EW sat down to talk to the three young stars of the raunchy comedy, the conversation kept circling back to the many, many digital rules that Gen Z must follow on a daily basis.

“Emojis for sure have their own language,” Adlon (who plays Barinholtz’s character’s daughter Sam) said. “We write whole stories with Emojis.”

While the generational divide between the cast and crew could have resulted in just that — a divide — it actually served to bring the whole group together. The three young actresses looked to their on-screen parents for guidance and on-the-spot comedic mentorship, and the adults on the film relied on them to help keep the high school dynamics as accurate as possible. And yes, that meant learning the secret Emoji language. In the spirit of sharing the wealth, Viswanathan, Adlon, and Newton offered up their tips, tricks, and translations for your texting knowledge.

The Heart Eyes

NEWTON: I use the heart eyes a lot for I love you. Or I love that!

VISWANATHAN: It’s when you like looking at something, you’re like, oh my eyes just turned into hearts.

NEWTON: Or when someone posts a cute picture, instead of writing “You look amazing,” sometimes I’ll just put the heart eyes.

The Crying-Laughing

VISWANATHAN: It’s like, being really stoned and laughing a lot.

ADLON: Or it’s like, “Oh my God, they’re so great! I love them so much!” Happy cries.

The Smiling Poop

NEWTON:

Smiley poop is just like, “Game on.” Simply put.

VISWANATHAN: Smiley poop is just a better version of the smiley face.

NEWTON: You know when I use the smiley poop? It’s actually when I’m like, “Oops, I messed up!”

ADLON: I’ve called someone a s–head using smiley poop.

VISWANATHAN: Or if I’m like, “I look like s—.” When you’re like, “hat are you wearing tonight? I look like s—.”

The Party Popper

ADLON: How do you guys feel about that one? I don’t care for that one.

VISWANATHAN: That one’s just like, celebraish! It’s like, wooo!

NEWTON: It’s just Madonna.

The Skull

NEWTON: I was gonna go for like, sometimes if you post a picture and it’s like, no caption necessary. Then use the skull Emoji.

ADLON: I’ve used the skull a lot for like, “This Uber driver smells like…” skull Emoji. Or “Someone farted and it smells like…” skull.

NEWTON: Actually, am I the only one that thinks the skull Emoji means cool?

The Red Heart

ADLON: If a guy sends you a red heart, you need to leave the premises.

VISWANATHAN: It means he’s either a sociopath or he’s, like, 14 years old. It’s really the catfish Emoji.

NEWTON: The red heart loses meaning if it’s from a f—boi. That’s the title of my memoir.

Blockers is in theaters now.