VI. Abbreviations and acronyms
Some abbreviations are read as individual letters.
WHO [W-H-O] World Health Organisation
ID Identity [an identity card or passport]
BBC British Broadcasting Corporation
GM(O) genetically modified (organism)
IRA Irish Republican Army
UN United Nations
PM Prime Minister
MP Member of Parliament
NOTE When these abbreviations are stressed words in the sentence, the stress falls on the last letter, e.g. She works for the CIA. I heard it on the BBC.
In the following three cases, the name of each country and the name of its secret police are pronounced as individual letters/numbers.
CIA (USA) MI5 (UK) KGB (of the former USSR)
Some abbreviations are read as words; we call them acronyms.
NATO /neitəu/ North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
OPEC /'əu рек/ Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries
AIDS /eidz/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
PIN /pin/ Personal Identity Number (e.g. for a bank or credit card)
Some acronyms have become so normal as words that people do not think of them as abbreviations any longer, and so they are not written all in capital letters.
laser radar Esso
Some abbreviations are only written forms; they are always pronounced as the full word. Mr (Mister) Dr (Doctor) St (Saint or Street) Rd (Road)
Within a written text some abbreviations are used as notes to organise the language and give extra information to the reader.
etc. /et'setra/ and so on [Latin et cetera]
i.e. (1-Е): that is to say [Latin id est]
e.g. (E-G) for example [Latin: exempli gratia]
PTO (P-T-O) please turn over
NB (N-B) please note [Latin: nota bene]
Clippings: Some words are normally used in an abbreviated form in informal situations.
ad/advert (advertisement) bike (bicycle)
phone (telephone) case (suitcase)
exam (examination) board (blackboard)
fridge (refrigerator) lab (laboratory)
plane (aeroplane) rep (business representative)
TV or telly (television)
Some abbreviations you might see on a letter/fax/envelope.
c/o care of [e.g. T. Smith, c/o J. Brown; the letter goes to J. Brown's address]
enc. enclosed [documents enclosed with a letter, e.g. enc. application form]
PS postscript [extra message after the letter has been ended]
asap as soon as possible [e.g. ring me asap]
RSVP (R-S-V-P) please reply [French; repondez s'il vous plait]
Chat abbreviation Dictionary
121: one to one
ADN: any day now
ADR/addy: address
AFAIK: as far as I know
AFK: away from keyboard
A/S/L: age, sex, location (or just "ASL")
ASAP: as soon as possible
B4: before
B4N: bye for now
BB: best boy
BBFD: big bad forum discussion
BBL: be back later
BF: boyfriend or best friend
BFF: best friends forever
BFFL: Best Friends For Life
BFFN: Best Friends for now
BFN: bye for now
BG: big grin / best girl
BMA: best mate always
BNR: but not really
BRB: be right back
BRT: be right there
BTA: but then again
BTW: by the way
C: see?
CID: crying in disgrace
CNP: continued [in my] next post
CP: chat post
CU: see you
CUL: see you later
CYA: see you (later) / cover your A**
CYO: see you online
DBAU: doing business as usual
DD, DH, DS, DW: dear daughter, dear husband, dear son, dear wife (often used on boards where you discuss personal things, but wish to keep private the names of your loved ones)
DW: dont worry
EIP: editing in progress
FUD: fear, uncertainty, and doubt/Food
FWIW: for what it's worth
FYI: for your information
G2G or GTG: got to go
G: grin
GA: go ahead
GAL: get a life
GF: girlfriend
GFN: gone for now
GFY: good for you
GG: gotta go/good game
GJ: good job
GL: good luck
GM: good morning
GMBO: giggling my butt off
GMTA: great minds think alike
GSOH: good sense of humor
GTFO: get the f*** out
GTG or G2G: got to go or get together
GYPO: get your pants off
H2G: have to go
HAGN: have a good night
HDOP: help delete online predators
HHIS: hanging head in shame
Homg: same as OMG
IAC: in any case
IANAL: I am not a lawyer (but)
IAWTC: I agree with this comment
IC: I see
IDC:I don't care
IDK: I don't know
IIRC: If I recall correctly
ILU: I love you
ILY: I love you
IMNECTHO: in my not-even-close-to-humble opinion
IMNSHO: in my not so humble opinion
IMO: in my opinion; or "IMHO" - in my humble/honest opinion
IMS: If memory serves
IOW: in other words
IPN: I’m posting naked
IRL: in real life
IWSN: I want sex now
JC: just chilling
K: all right / okay
KFY: kiss for you
KIT: Keep in touch
KTHX: Okay, thanks.
JK: just kidding / joking; also JKING
JSUK: just so you know
KPC: keeping parents clueless
L8R: later
LAFFO: laughing out loud
LBR: loser beyond repair
LD: later, dude
LDR: long distance relationship
LLTA: lots and lots of thunderous applause
LMIRL: let's meet in real life
LMAO: laughing my *** off
LMSO: laughing my socks off
LMFAO: laughing my f*** a** off
LMK: Let Me Know
LOL: laughing out loud, lots of love
LOLZ: Same as LOL
LQTS: laughing quietly to self
LTNS:long time no see
LTP: learn to play (L2P)
LTR: longterm relationship
LULAB: love you like a brother
LULAS: love you like a sister
MML: making me laugh
MMORPG: massively multiplayer online role playing game
MOOS: member(s) of the opposite sex
MorF: Male or female?
MOSS/MOTSS: member(s) of the same sex
M/F: male or female
N1: nice one
NALOPKT: not a lot of people know that
NERF: Non-Expanding Recreational Foam (NERF is a company). Also, nerf when used a a verb (example: The paladins were nerfed in the last game update.) is generally a gaming term meaning that the subject has been lowered in power/stats.
NE1: anyone
NFI: no f***ing idea
NFW: no f***ing way
NIAGW: not in a gay way
NIFOC: naked in front of computer
NO1: no one
NOOB: newbie (new to the site/new to texting/new to whatever)
NSFW: not safe for work
NP: no Problem
N/P: no problem
NVM: nevermind
NM: not much, nothing much, never mind
OIC: ohh I see
OMG: oh my God, oh my goodness, oh my gosh
OMGBBQWTF: oh my God, Bar-b-q, What The F*** (surprise and confusion). Sometimes spelled OMGWTFBBQ.
OMW: on my way
OP: original post/original poster
OTOH: on the other hand
OTW: on the way
P911: parent alert
PAL: parents are listening
PAW: parents are watching
PCM: Please call me
PIR: parent in room
POS: parent over shoulder / Piece of S***
PLZ: please
PlzKThx: Please. ok? Thanks. (Thanks in advance)
PlzKThxNo-Re: Please, ok, Thanks, No-Read (sarcasm)
PL0x or PLOX: same as please
PDA: public display [of] affection
QFT: quoted for truth
R: are (common)
RBA: right back at you (right back atcha)
RL: real life
RTFM: read the f***ing manual
ROFL: rolling on floor laughing
ROTFLOL: rolling on the floor laughing out loud
ROFLMAO: rolling on the floor laughing my a** off
RPG: role playing games
RP: roleplay
SA: something awful
SGXK: set a good example for the kiddies
SHID: slaps head in disgust
SLAP: sounds like a plan
SLGF: secondlife girlfriend
SO: significant other
SOMY: sick of me yet?
SOT: short of time
SUF: shut up fool
TBH : to be honest
TDTM: talk dirty to me
THX: thanks
THT: That
TIA: thanks in advance
TMI: too much information
TTFN: ta-ta for now
TTYL: talk to you later
TTYS: talk to you soon
TTLY: totally
TY: thank you
U: you (common); how are you?; or you do it!
U/C: Can also be typed as UC. Means under construction.
UW: you’re welcome
w/e: whatever
WAT: What?
WAYT: what are you thinking?
WB: welcome back/ write back
WDYT: what do you think
WFM: works for me
WIBNI: wouldn't it be nice if
WIP: work in progress
WTGP: want to go private?
WTG: way to go
WTH: what the heck, or what the he**
WUIP: wind up in progress
WUBU2: what you been up to
WUD: what you doing
WUU2: what you up to
WYCM: will you call me?
WYSIWYG: what you see is what you get
Y:why?
YM: young man
YMMV: your mileage may vary
YW: you're welcome
ZOMG: same as OMG