What 🪃 means
🪃 is the boomerang emoji, filed under Objects in the tool subgroup of the Unicode emoji index.
It was added in Emoji 13.0 (2020) and the underlying characters entered Unicode in version 13.0 (2020).
How it is encoded
🪃 is a single code point, U+1FA83.
It is RGI (recommended for general interchange), so every major platform ships artwork for it.
Playful in return jokes; for Australian references, avoid using an object as a stand-in for Indigenous people.
What it means when someone sends it to you
3 readingsAfter a joke about consequences
Their actions came back on them; a backfire.
Beside 🇦🇺 or 🦘
Australia or Australian culture.
After saying someone is returning
They are reappearing, not necessarily facing punishment.
Combination ideas
2Suggested pairing: something keeps coming around.
Suggested pairing: an Australian trip or cultural reference.
Worth knowing
- 🪃 is a single code point, so it survives copying through almost anything — old databases, SMS gateways, printer drivers.
Questions people ask
1Why does 🪃 look different on other phones?
Every platform draws its own artwork for the same code point. The character you send is identical; Apple, Google, Samsung and WhatsApp each render it in their own style.
How to type 🪃
Windows
Win+.Open the emoji picker and search “boomerang”.
macOS
Control+Command+Spaceopens the character viewer.
iOS / Android
Emoji keyboard → search “boomerang”.
Chat apps
:boomerang:the common shortcode; support varies by platform.HTML
🪃Codes and encoding1 code points
HTML decimal
🪃
HTML hex
🪃
CSS content
content: "\1FA83";
Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.
URL encoded
%F0%9F%AA%83
1
On screen
1
Code points
2
JS .length
4
UTF-8 bytes
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.