ZZZ

Sleep, tiredness, or a snooze-worthy moment. The floating Zs are snore-speak: drop 💤 after goodnight and it reads as "I'm beat and signing off". Point the same Zs at someone else's update and the snore can turn pointed: that was a snooze.

The Zs started in comics. Artists needed to show that a still, silent character was asleep, so they drew the snoring. A 1903 Katzenjammer Kids strip, an American newspaper comic, is an early trace: the sleeping Captain snores Zs in a hammock. Rival marks included stars, musical notes and a saw cutting a log. In 1924 the American Dialect Society, a group recording English usage, listed Z-z-z as a sound of buzzing or snoring. Japanese comics often show sleep differently, with a nose bubble that swells with each breath.

Someone replied with just 💤 — what does that mean?

Usually tiredness or a tease, not proof they're asleep. If 💤 closes their own message, they're describing themselves. A lone 💤 fired back at your message, with no goodnight in play, can be a nudge that it dragged. Paired with 😴 or an apology for replying late, it softens back to literal: they were wiped.