Annoying Abbreviations

Some time back, I started seeing a lot of people online using the expression "FTW" more and more often. This confused me, because the only meaning I was familiar with is the one commonly used in biker culture, where it stands for "F**k The World" and often that didn't make any sense in context.

Of course, I eventually figured out that it's being used by some now to be short for "For The Win" ... which tends to provoke an eyeroll from me, since I'm old enough for that phrase to primarily bring to mind Hollywood Squares.

Anyone else stumble over that kind of abbreviation - either because it was opaque or as in my case had multiple interpretations?

Biker Bear said:

Some time back, I started seeing a lot of people online using the expression "FTW" more and more often. This confused me, because the only meaning I was familiar with is the one commonly used in biker culture, where it stands for "F**k The World" and often that didn't make any sense in context.

Of course, I eventually figured out that it's being used by some now to be short for "For The Win" ... which tends to provoke an eyeroll from me, since I'm old enough for that phrase to primarily bring to mind Hollywood Squares.

Anyone else stumble over that kind of abbreviation - either because it was opaque or as in my case had multiple interpretations?

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Oh yes. WTB/WTS/WTT. WTF?

Although, in context, it makes me want to post "WTF: Megan Fox".

ROFLMAOZOMGWTFBBQ?!?

Sorry had to do it.

Yes, abbreviations like "FTW" and "Lulz" or "Lulzy" are really annoying. I used to think "FML" was annoying until it started to make sense much of the time.

Don't feel bad; I had to ask what "bump" meant.

QFT.

used to be quit forking talking...

then turned into quoted for truth.

that's the only one i ever really derp'd over.

other than that i guess i'm just young enough to keep up with the ever changing internet vocabulary

The one that I really hate is SMH? I don't even know what that one means does anyone?

USRobinson said:

The one that I really hate is SMH? I don't even know what that one means does anyone?

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Shaking my head.

My favorite is TLA.

There's been a few occasions where I've been forced to consult a dictionary.

FWIW ( <- One I particularly hate) I find it kind of sad that we even need such a dictionary.

A reminder to members that this is a family-friendly forum and profanities, even thinly-disguised or abbreviated ones, are not permitted.

reminds me of a time a few years back... I was at work reviewing a schematic with a work buddy. The schematic was for a fancy new gizmo from one of our suppliers and we were doing a design review. There were a bunch of odd details, so I was scribbling little notes at various places.

My buddy asked about one of my shorter notes; he didn't recognize the abbreviation. I explained, without thinking about it much, "it stands for 'What's The Function?' ".
That's not really what I intended when I wrote it, of course.

Steve K.
(hoping that I kept this ambiguous enough for the less corrupted members of the audience)

flashflood said:

Shaking my head.

My favorite is TLA.

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TLA is a TLA, right?

SPF:
I think it means sell pending for, but still am not sure.

Yup. IIWA, YMMV, IIRC. Aaaaarrrrggg!!!!!!

Why can't we just spell stuff out?

srfreddy said:

SPF:
I think it means sell pending for, but still am not sure.

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I've always read it as "Spoken For".

edit: after reading Russ' signature, I propose we start a new TLA: TGC

Then in 3 years none of the newbies will have any clue what we're all on about.

SPF Sold Pending Funds
Norm

Mjolnir said:

TLA is a TLA, right?

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Exactly.

flashflood said:

Shaking my head.

My favorite is TLA.

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ooooooooooh I thought I thought it was something like suck my head or something like that... hahaha cool happy that's been cleared up

I'm more annoyed about the redundant phrases you can make with some of them. Like ATM machine.

How about SMO? It's not even a bleeping acronym! (Just short for smooth.)

I get flustered by pairing a/an with acronyms when it's ambiguous, such as:

- an LOP reflector
- a LOP reflector

If you read the acronym as "ell oh pee" the first is correct; if you read it as "light orange peel" the second is correct. I'm sure there's a Strunk & White rule for this, but the practical effect is that either choice will be jarring to half your readers, so I try to avoid this construct altogether.

Mjolnir said:

TLA is a TLA, right?

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I always liked the circular reference of "TLA", but then one day I realized it's actually an initialism. Acronyms are things that form words, like LASER or FUBAR (I think the "f" stands for "fouled"). Initialisms just a series of the first letters of the string of words, like FWIW.

Back in my days of working at a defense contractor, they actually published a dictionary of acronyms and initialisms! For any given entry (other than the classics), you could find 4 or 5 possible meanings. The defense business was so fond of acronyms that it was common for people to figure out what they wanted the acronym to be, and then contort the key words to fit the acronym.

but... I think my favorite initialism is BFH. It goes back to my days of fixing jets, and refers to the tool used when things didn't quite fit and needed a bit of persuasion. The "h" stands for hammer. The BFW's were handy when you needed a bit of extra torque to loosen a stuck bolt. Of course, this was in the days when the pilots would write up a problem on the aircraft as succinctly as "UHF radio AFU".

regards,
Steve K.