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ACRONYMS AND EMOTICONS
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The year Larry Sabato ate crow
ACRONYMS AND EMOTICONS
USED IN THE COMPUTER COMMUNITY
This is a list translating those strange acronyms
and symbols you see in
cyberspace messages
Much of it is based on a file called CISexp.doc compiled by Josh
Mandel.
That file included earlier files by James Bach & Joan
Friedman.
Other contributors since are:
Sally Neuman, Neil
Rubenking, Orville Fudpucker, Dave Konkel,
William Crockett, Jim Lee, Jim Scarborough, and Rey Barry.
This is a long page.
To help you find the section you need
here's a set of navigation links.
1. True Acronyms
2. Expressions
3. Emoticons
PLUS
4. What on-line auction terms really mean
True Acronyms
| Acronym | Expansion
| AA
| Alcoholics Anonymous
| AAA
| Travel club
| AAAAA
| Travel club for alcoholics
| ADN
| Any day now
| AES
| Advanced Encryption Standard
| AFAIK
| As far as I know
| AFCAQTWCA
| Any fool can ask questions the wise can't answer
| AFK
| Away from the keyboard
| AGAN
| As good as new
| AKA
| Also known as
| AWGTHTGTTA
| Are we going to have to go through this again
| B4N
| Bye for now
| BAD
| Broken as designed
| BAMF
| Bad assed motherfucker
| BBL
| Be back later
| BBR
| Burnt beyond repair
| BBS
| Bulletin board system
| BFD
| Big fuckin' deal
| BIOYIOP
| Blow it out your I/O port
| BISD
| Built-in shit detector
| BITGOD
| Back in the good old days
| BOFH
| Bastard operator from hell (UNIX), from http://bofh.ntk.net/Bastard.html
| BOHICA
| Bend over, here it comes again (military for getting screwed)
| BOM
| Book of Morons
| BRB
| Be right back
| BRS
| Big red switch
| BSOD
| Blue screen of death (PMS Microsoft style)
| BTA
| But then again (in response to IOW)
| BTW
| By the way
| BYAM
| Between you and me
| BWQ
| Buzz word quotient
| CI$
| Compu$erve Information Service
| CTS
| Consider the source
| CU
| See you
| CUL
| See you later
| CUL8R
| See you later
| DIIK
| Damned if I know
| DILLIGAF
| Does it look like I give a fuck
| DIY
| Do it yourself
| DL or D/L
| Download, transmit to you
| DTP
| DeskTop publishing
| DTRT
| Do the right thing
| DWIMC
| Do what I mean, correctly
| EAPG
| Early American pressed glass
| EOT
| End Of Thread (don't reply to this message)
| ES&D
| Eat shit and die
| ESABATM
| Eat shit and bark at the moon
| ETLA
| Extended three letter acronym
| FFRD
| Flying fuck in a rolling donut (I don't give one)
| FHOF
| Freeware Hall of Fame
| FISH
| First In, Still Here
| FITB
| Fill in the blank
| FLMN
| Four letter mnemonic name
| FOAF
| Friend of a friend
| FOB
| Fresh off the boat
| FOMCL
| Fell off my chair laughing
| FOOBAR
| Variant of FUBAR (Fucked up beyond all repair)
| FOOMCL
| Fell out of my chair laughing
| FOS
| Freedom of speech; Full of shit
| FRED
| Fucking ridiculous electronic device
| FTM, RTFC
| Forget the manual, read the fucking code
| FTTT
| From time to time
| FUBAR
| Fucked up beyond all repair
| FTW
| Fuck the world
| FUD
| Fear, uncertainty and doubt
| FURTB
| Full up ready to burst (about hard drives)
| FWIW
| For what it's worth
| FY&TSYRIO
| Fuck you and the sysop you rode in on
| FYA&E
| For your amusement and edification
| FYDITM
| Fuck you directly in the mouth
| FYI
| For your information
| g or G
| Grin
| GAFIA
| Get away from it all
| gd&r
| grinning, ducking and running
| gd&arf
| grinning, ducking and running FAST!
| gd&arvvf
| grinning, ducking and running VERY VERY FAST!
| gd&aw
| grinning, ducking and weaving
| GFR
| Grim file reaper (pervasive data destroyer)
| GFY
| Good for you, or Go fuck yourself, depending on context
| GH
| Getting hard
| GIGO
| Garbage In, Garbage Out
| GIWIST
| Gee, I wish I'd said that
| GLGH
| Good luck and good hunting
| GMTA
| Great minds think alike
| GW
| Getting wet
| HIIK
| Hell if I know
| HMOFG or HMFG
| Holy mother of fucking god
| HTH
| Hope this helps
| IAC
| In any case
| IAE
| In any event
| IANAL/A/D/B
| I am not a lawyer/attorney/doctor, but ...
| IASTIHTTYT
| I am surprised that I have to tell you that (related forms exist)
| IC
| I see
| IDTT
| I'll drink to that
| IETF
| Internet engineering task force
| IIRC
| If I recall correctly
| IITYWIMIWHTKY
| If I tell you what it means, I will have to kill you
| IITYWIMWYBMAD
| If I tell you what it means, will you buy me a drink
| ILTNMMAMOTC. HYCFAPMSFTJ
| I'd like to nominate Mike Meyer as moderator of that conference. Honestly you couldn't find a person more suited for the job.
| ILY
| I love you
| IMAO
| In my arrogant opinion
| IMCO
| In my considered opinion
| IMHO
| In my humble opinion
| IMNSHO
| In my not so humble opinion
| IMO
| In my opinion
| IMBO
| In my biased opinion
| INPO
| In no particular order
| IOW
| In other words
| IWBNI
| It would be nice if
| IWRBSOF
| I would rather be set on fire
| IYFEG
| Insert your favorite ethnic group
| JIC
| Just in case
| JSNM
| Just stark naked magic
| JTYWTK
| Just thought you wanted to know
| KMYF
| Kiss me you fool
| L8R
| Later
| LAB&TYD
| Life's a bitch and then you die
| LLTA; LALOTA
| Lots and lots of thunderous applause
| LMAO
| Laughing my ass off
| LMWIS
| Lick me here I sweat
| LOL
| Laughing out loud (grossly overused - the acronym everyone knows)
| MLA
| Multiple letter acronym
| MOTAS
| Member of the appropriate sex
| MOTOS
| Member of the opposite sex
| MOTSS
| Member of the same sex
| NFW
| No fucking way
| NIMBY
| Not in my backyard
| NIXON
| Equivalent of shit, ie. "Take a Nixon"
| NSS
| No shit, Sherlock
| ObTWIAVBP
| Obligatory the world is a very big place (what's obvious to insiders may puzzle outsiders)
| OIC
| Oh, I see
| ONLY
| Used by sellers and shareware authors who over-price, ie. "Only $99.95"
| OOTC
| Obligatory on topic comment
| OTF
| On the floor
| OTOH
| On the other hand
| OTTH
| On the third hand
| PABG
| Pack a big gun
| PCYLIHOONL
| Please cross your legs, I have only one nail left
| PITA
| Pain in the ass (source of "Pitabytes," term coined at FHOF to mean spam and Internet advertising)
| PLOKTA
| Press lots of keys to abort
| PMBI
| Pardon my butting in
| PMFBI
| Pardon me for butting in
| POS
| Point of sale; Piece of shit
| POSSLQ
| Person of opposite sex sharing living quarters
| POV
| Point of view
| PTB
| Powers that be
| RE
| Regarding
| ROTFL
| Rolling on the floor laughing
| ROTFLMAO
| Rolling on the floor laughing my ass off
| ROTFLAHMS
| Rolling on the floor laughing and holding my side
| RPG
| Role playing games
| RSN
| Real Soon Now (always capitalized)
| RTFM
| Read the fucking manual
| RTFNG
| Read the fucking newsgroup
| QUANGO
| Quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisation
| SFLA
| Stupid four letter acronym
| SIG
| Special interest group
| SIAANMHOOEI
| Stupidity is always astounding no matter how often one encounters it
| SMO; SMON
| Serious mode on
| SMOP
| Small matter of programming
| SMOff
| Serious mode off
| SNAFU
| Situation normal - all fucked up
| SO
| Significant other
| SOB
| Son of a bitch
| SPAM
| Junk email (from SPiced hAM, Hormel's junk meat)
| SSL
| Secure sockets layer
| ST-TNG
| Star Trek, The Next Generation
| ST-TOS
| Star Trek, The Original Series
| STI/ST-TMP
| Star Trek, The Motion Picture
| STII/ST-WOK
| Star Trek, Wrath of Khan
| STIII/ST-SFS
| Star Trek, Search for Spock
| STIV/ST-TVH
| Star Trek, The Voyage Home
| STV/ST-TFF
| Star Trek, The Final Frontier
| STVI/ST-TUC
| Star Trek, The Undiscovered Country
| SWMBO
| She who must be obeyed
| SYSOP
| SYStem OPerator, aka God
| TAFN
| That's all for now
| TAFT
| That's a frightening thought
| TANJ
| There ain't no justice
| TANSTAAFL
| There ain't no such thing as a free lunch
| TNSTAAFL
| There's no such thing as a free lunch
| TDLS(CNMSBNOWT)
| The dirty little secret (Conservatives need more sex but no one wants them)
| TDM
| Too damn many
| TGIF
| Thank god its Friday
| TIA
| Thanks in advance
| TIATLG
| Truly, I am the living god
| TLA
| Three letter acronym
| TLS
| Transport layer security
| TLG
| The living god (unless otherwise applied it refers to Jim Lee of Los Angeles)
| TPTB
| The powers that be
| TSJD
| Texas size jelly donut - official food of Texas sysops
| TSR
| Terminate and stay resident software
| TTBOMK
| To the best of my knowledge
| TTFN
| Ta-Ta for now
| TTL4N
| That's the lot for now
| TTUL
| Talk (or type) to you later
| UAE
| Unrecoverable application error (Bane of Windows users)
| UL or U/L
| Upload (send to a recipient)
| WATMHATTAH
| Why are there more horses asses than there are horses
| WFM
| Works for me
| WIMP
| Windows, Icons, Mouse, Pointing
| WOFTAM
| Waste of fucking time and money
| WRT
| With regard to
| WTF
| What the fuck
| WTFDIK
| What the fuck do I know
| WTMTOYH
| Way too much time on your hands
| WYGIWYPF
| What you get is what you pay for
| WYITF
| Wrapping yourself in the flag ("Patriotism - last refuge of a scoundrel")
| WYSIWYG
| What you see is what you get
| YABA
| Yet another bloody acronym
| YMMV
| Your mileage may vary
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Common Expressions used just as they appear here
| <arching eyebrows> | *blush* | <chuckle> |
| <falling off the soapbox> | <frown> | <grin> |
| *hug* | *kiss* | <lewd wink> |
| <making notes...> | <mounting the soapbox> | <raising eyebrows> |
| <sheepish grin> | <Sheesh!>(tm) | <silly grin> |
| <smile> | <smiling sweetly> | <smirk> |
| <wink> | <nudge nudge, wink wink> |
Selected Emoticons
emoticon: n. an expression created with the symbols on a keyboard.
They are usually read with the head tilted to the left.
They are used to convey the spirit in which a line of text was typed.
| Emoticon | Meaning |
| :) :-) :> | Smiling, happy faces; don't take me too seriously |
| ;) ;-) ;> | Winking happy faces (something said tongue-in-cheek) |
| B-) | Smiling face from a person wearing glasses |
| 8-) | Smiling face with a wide-eyed look |
| :D :-D | Wider happy face (or Mistrel singers) |
| :-o | "Oh, nooooooo!" (a la Mr. Bill) |
| :-( | Sad or disappointed face |
| :-P | Tongue stuck out |
| :-J | Tongue in cheek |
| :-# | Message concerning something that shouldn't have been said... |
| :-$ | Message indicating person is ill... |
| :-& | Message indicating person is angry... |
| :-* | Kiss... |
| :-x | Kiss kiss |
| :-(=) | Message from a person with big teeth. |
| <:-) | Dumb questions |
| <g> | Grin |
| |-( | Late night messages |
| :^) | From a person with a large nose |
| :*) | Clowning around |
| :-{#} | From a person with braces |
| &:-) | From a person with curly hair |
| @:-) | From a person with wavy hair |
| #:-) | From a person with matted hair |
| O:-) | Angel |
| C=:-) | Chef |
| ;-)}<////> | Corporate-type guy (see the necktie?) |
| :-) )-: | Masking theatrical comments |
| :-|K- | Formal message. |
| <:>== | A turkey |
| ...---... | S.O.S. |
| O:O | A girl is mooning you |
| @*&$!% | You know what that means... |
| 2B|^2B | Message about Shakespeare |
| (O--< | A fishy message... |
| @>--->---- | A rose. |
| (-_-) | Secret smile |
| (.)(.) | Ms. Dos |
On-line Auction Terms
| ADORABLE | Too tacky to be kitsch |
| ACTUAL SHIPPING CHARGE | You'll pay every last dime including the parking meter at the PO |
| ANCIENT | Grandma owned it |
| ANTIQUE | Mom owned it |
| BEAUTIFUL | If you think rust is art |
| BRILLIANT SHINE | My buffer really did a number on this |
| CHECK MY FEEDBACK | All the Negs are on my other accounts |
| CIVIL WAR | Made in India last month (India is always in civil war) |
| COLLECTIBLE | I have WAY too many |
| CUTE | Butt-Ugly |
| CLEAN PER EBAY | I wore these panties on a hot date |
| DON'T MISS THIS ONE! | Somebody PLEASE buy it |
| EXCEPTIONAL | Has everything except what you hoped |
| FABULOUS | This auction required a totally imaginative description |
| FINE | New paint didn't hide the glue joints |
| FUSION | Tasteless |
| GREAT CONDITION | The dog seldom used it for a chew toy |
| GREAT CONDITION FOR ITS AGE | Barely recognizeable |
| GREAT ITEM! | Every customer handles it; no one buys |
| HTF - Hard to Find | Only 3 others for sale when I posted the auction |
| HOT! | I shilled this item with my 30 bogus registrations |
| I WAS TOLD THIS IS ... | No one bid when I said what it really is |
| L@@K | This item has nothing going for it (see MUST SEE) |
| LE - Limited Edition | Only 4 million before they stopped numbering them |
| MIB | Mashed In Box |
| MINT | Meticulously cleaned |
| NEAR MINT | Wouldn't quite clean-up |
| MINTY | (A red flag) Suggestive, meaningless word used by devious sellers and cheats |
| NEEDS POLISHING | Oh how I tried, but the finish is shot |
| NEEDS TLC | Like King Kong needs a shave. Where to begin? |
| MUST SEE | This item has nothing going for it (see L@@K) |
| NICE | Dumping it because I got a better one for my collection |
| NR | No Reserve. I used a whopping opening bid instead |
| NOS | New Old Stock is often Nasty Old Schlock |
| OLD | Useless then, useless now |
| VERY OLD | Useless for generations |
| ONE OF A KIND | I have no idea what this is |
| PATINA | Rust never sleeps (see WONDERFUL PATINA) |
| PERFECT | It is for all I know; I've never seen another |
| PRIMATIVE | Untalented, unskilled, unschooled art |
| PRISTINE | All remnants of mouse feces came off in the washer |
| UNUSUAL | Only 4 others for sale when I posted the auction |
| RARE | Only 2 others for sale when I posted the auction |
| VERY RARE | Only 1 other for sale when I posted the auction |
| SUPER RARE | This is the only one for sale today (so far) |
| UNIQUE | Only one of these for sale in at least 14 days |
| STUNNING | Garish |
| WONDERFUL PATINA | I polished the rust (see PATINA) |
| SHELF PIECE | Damage visible on one side only |
| UNBELIEVABLE | The description doesn't fit my item in any way |
| VINTAGE | Made way, way back 15 years ago when I was born |
| WONDERFUL | You'll forever wonder why |
| WOW!!! | I'm SO desperate to dump this |
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Rey Barry (rey at cstone.net) All rights reserved Page last updated April 27, 2009 |
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