Okay, a

indicates you have 1 of 4 symbols in correct position.
A

indicates you have a correct character that's out of order.
An

indicates a fail letter.
The smilies do not appear in order of characters, but rather order of

s to

s to

s.
Take the allotted characters and make a guess using 4 of them.
Also, make better guesses by looking at the results page and pulling out what can ro cannot be right. Deduce!