Acronyms

[Joe Nerve]

FWIW, IRGSOT.

HDAOFK WTHAIWA?

IGR, IMO.

CHIAM.

ITTWOTF?

 

[MJ5150]

The slow death of the initialism continues.

-Mike

 

[S-Bigbottom]

LMNOP.
QRS?
TUV.
WX?
YZ.

 

[charlie monroe]

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

 

[D M C]

Laughing out loud!

 

[hrodbert696]

You wanna hear something weird? All the excessive education I've been subjected to, for years and years, all the vocabulary, and for some reason the word "acronym" itself simply will not stick in my brain. When I hear someone use the word I know what it means... but if I'm saying that SHAEF is an... an... a, you know, one of those things when you make a word out of the first letters of words in a phrase.... anagram? No that's not it, it's an... oh crap.

Another fun fact; Acronyms only begin to appear at the end of the nineteenth century, and only really become popular in the 20th, coming out of military usage (the ANZACs being one of the earliest examples). One way to spot a false etymology for a word is if it claims to be an acronym older than that - you especially see this with claims about origins of profanity. I'll tread around the rules for examples here, but there's a Van Halen album title that uses a phrase that's allegedly the origin acronym of one swear word, or an internet myth that claims people used to send shipments of excrement in boats, giving rise to another.

 

[MJ5150]

Great post @hrodbert696. My fascination with acronyms comes from my 8th grade social studies teacher who was a stickler about acronyms and initialisms.
I can assure you I was not in 8th grade prior to the end of the 19th century, so my story is legit.

-Mike

 

[Alkali Ike]

The military has acronyms for practically everything. It’s like a dialect unique to them.

 

[DirtDog]

Another fun fact; Acronyms only begin to appear at the end of the nineteenth century, and only really become popular in the 20th, coming out of military usage (the ANZACs being one of the earliest examples)

I think SPQR predates ANZAC by about 20 centuries....

 

[DirtDog]

The military has acronyms for practically everything. It’s like a dialect unique to them.

Yeah, that’s BMQ.

 

[hrodbert696]

I think SPQR predates ANZAC by about 20 centuries....

True, but I don't think SPQR was used as a word in its own right; only as an inscription. You'll find initials - USA, HMS, USS, etc. - older than late 19th century, but not the practice of forming a word you can use in speech from a set of initials. But in WWI you could read a newspaper article that said, "The ANZACs were involved in heavy fighting yesterday..."

 

[Bassbeater]

My favorite is BBQ. Although it might not technically meet the requirement.

 

[D M C]

CQD - Wikipedia

The article refers to phases meant to define preexisting letter codes as “bacronyms.”

 

[Gorn]

 

[Joe Nerve]

FWIW, my OP was out of frustration. I can't keep up with them any more. Waiting for the day that business letters, books, magazine articles, etc. start all looking like my OP. That was a real message by the way.

Dont ask me to remember it though.

 

[Joe Nerve]

And BTW, what is TLDR aside from inspiration for the OP?

Hey, I'm getting pretty good at this, lol.

 

[Old Blastard]

TLDR, MRE, ROFLMA, etc, ***? IDK, IDC.

DILLIGAF. KMAGYOYO.

 

[Old Blastard]

Are we blocking *** now? ***!

 

[Old Blastard]

Guess we are.

 

[StudioStuntz]

You wanna hear something weird? All the excessive education I've been subjected to, for years and years, all the vocabulary, and for some reason the word "acronym" itself simply will not stick in my brain. When I hear someone use the word I know what it means... but if I'm saying that SHAEF is an... an... a, you know, one of those things when you make a word out of the first letters of words in a phrase.... anagram? No that's not it, it's an... oh crap.

I get stuck on that one too, and with the same thought process.