# Acronym puzzle **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 8, 2003, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronym-puzzle/173948 "2003-05-08T19:16:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronym-puzzle/173948/1 "2003-05-08T19:16:42Z")
If lol is 4, and ianal is 2.6: What is the highest and lowest? (I’m guessing scuba and radar 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronym-puzzle/173948/2 "2003-05-08T19:54:33Z")
Beats me, but I can telll you SCUBA is 8.2 and RADAR is 4.8. Both of these are lower than NASA (10.25) and FBI (9.67). Based on one FAQ (8) that I read, the name of the programming language C would be 1. That’d be the lowest, if it counted. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronym-puzzle/173948/3 "2003-05-08T20:38:00Z")
The highest I could come up with after some thought are AI (Artificial Intelligence) at 11, and EE (Electrical Engineering) at 10.5. I looked through [a canonical acronym list](http://www.astro.umd.edu/~marshall/abbrev.html) for a low score, and depending on what you count, I got UOK (you ok) at 1.67, OIC (oh I see) at 2, GTG (got to go) and WTG (way to go) at 2.33, IANAC (I am not a crook) at 2.4, and IAAL (I am a lawyer) and IASH (I am so horny) at 2.5. (I realize what the technical meaning of “acronym” is; I’m using [the definition found in FOLDOC](http://wombat.doc.ic.ac.uk/foldoc/foldoc.cgi?query=acronym).) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronym-puzzle/173948/4 "2003-05-08T20:41:39Z")
NASA is going to be tough to beat. I screwed up my count for radar (2.8). Is C an acronym of something? Code? ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronym-puzzle/173948/5 "2003-05-08T20:44:08Z")
No, it’s not, but the thing was making a joke that “C” was an acronym for “C”. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronym-puzzle/173948/6 "2003-05-08T21:03:58Z")
Sorry, I don’t mean to deluge this thread with entries, but OK (okay) is 2 and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) is 11.33. ---
**Author:** ![ElevatedSteve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3da27b/32.png) [@ElevatedSteve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElevatedSteve)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronym-puzzle/173948/7 "2003-05-08T21:23:55Z")
Using the acronym AIME (Association of Institutions concerned with Medical Engineering) found here: [http://www.mdis.org/Library/Acronyms/](http://www.mdis.org/Library/Acronyms/) I get 14. Does this count? There may be some on this page that get higher numbers, but I don’t want to try to figure out values anymore. Steven ---
**Author:** ![ElevatedSteve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3da27b/32.png) [@ElevatedSteve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElevatedSteve)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronym-puzzle/173948/8 "2003-05-08T21:27:01Z")
what about recursive acronyms? like php (php hypertext preprocessor), would this have the value infinity or 8? ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronym-puzzle/173948/9 "2003-05-08T21:47:04Z")
I have no idea what anyone here is talking about. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronym-puzzle/173948/10 "2003-05-08T21:54:36Z")
Trying to figure out what you people are talking about is giving me a headache. I only have the faintest, vaguest idea. Could you explain in detail? If you do, thanks. F\_X ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronym-puzzle/173948/11 "2003-05-08T22:24:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ArchiveGuy \* > I have no idea what anyone here is talking about. ☹ Expand the acronym and count theletters. Divide by the number of letters in the acronym For example, maser = 10.6 BTW, OK is not an acronym for okay. Maybe for ‘oll korrect’ or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronym-puzzle/173948/12 "2003-05-08T22:24:21Z")
You understand what we mean by acronym, right? Just take the number of letters in the expanded form and divide by the number of letters in the acronym. That gives you the score. So, “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” has 21 letters, and “USA” has 3 letters, so USA is 7. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronym-puzzle/173948/13 "2003-05-08T22:26:55Z")
IMHO is 4.25…that’s a hint, son. Haj ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronym-puzzle/173948/14 "2003-05-08T22:27:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dtilque \* > BTW, OK is not an acronym for okay. Maybe for ‘oll korrect’ or something like that. I agree with you that it is most reasonable to say that OK is not an acronym for “okay”. However, I think that there is a huge gray area for what counts as an acronym, so I threw it out there anyway. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronym-puzzle/173948/15 "2003-05-08T22:35:22Z")
Cecil has said: [What’s the origin of OK?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_250)… hence, OK would be 5 (for “oll korrect”), not a mere 2 for Okay. IFL (International Federation of Labor) would be 9.67 ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronym-puzzle/173948/16 "2003-05-08T22:39:48Z")
GNU is infinite. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![FranticMad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c68b51/32.png) [@FranticMad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FranticMad)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronym-puzzle/173948/17 "2003-05-08T23:55:54Z")
American Gastroentological Association is 12 ---
**Author:** ![FranticMad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c68b51/32.png) [@FranticMad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FranticMad)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronym-puzzle/173948/18 "2003-05-08T23:56:32Z")
American Gastroenterological Association is 12.66 ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronym-puzzle/173948/19 "2003-05-09T00:02:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by C K Dexter Haven \* > Cecil has said: [What’s the origin of OK?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_250)… hence, OK would be 5 (for “oll korrect”), not a mere 2 for Okay. Yes, I know the etymology, but today, when people say or write OK, they don’t mean “oll korrect”; they mean “okay”. ---
**Author:** ![JimOfAllTrades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@JimOfAllTrades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimOfAllTrades)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronym-puzzle/173948/20 "2003-05-09T03:24:56Z")
ASPI is a sort of double acronum. Advanced SCSI Programming Interface. And SCSI is Small Computer Systems Interface. A full expansion gets you 14.25. Not bad. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronym-puzzle/173948.md?page=2)