KNERBLE

Two dots (located under the = on a phone keyboard) placed on the outside of a word or phrase to add emphasis: “You’ve done a •beautiful• job of bedazzling.”

Particularly useful in texts, as traditional forms of emphasis are inefficient/impossible (italicizing, underlining) or irritating/offensive (capitalization).

Asterisks can be used in place of dots, but they are inelegant and can create confusion.