# Acronyms that don't stand for anything anymore **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 8, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-that-dont-stand-for-anything-anymore/573982 "2011-03-08T23:55:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-that-dont-stand-for-anything-anymore/573982/101 "2011-09-08T12:43:01Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Um, what about Première Banque du Canada? Wouldn’t have sounded right, since the central bank (ya know, monetary policy, etc.) is already called _Banque du Canada_. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-that-dont-stand-for-anything-anymore/573982/102 "2011-09-08T12:55:31Z")
Another plea for common sense here — Yes, most people don’t know that, for example, “radar” stands for radio detection and ranging. But that doesn’t mean it no longer stands for radio detection and ranging. It still does. On another note, I read a few years ago that FFA is now just FFA, not Future Farmers of America. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-that-dont-stand-for-anything-anymore/573982/103 "2011-09-08T13:12:57Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Is SQL an acronym or an abbreviation? Acronym, if you’re a pig. I had a ColecoVision in the eighties, well after the manufacturer had stopped calling itself the Connecticut Leather Company. And Sunoco is still around, as is Esso. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-that-dont-stand-for-anything-anymore/573982/104 "2011-09-08T13:40:48Z")
> [@tim-n-va](#): > > How about PCMCIA, those credit card sized slots on laptops from about 10 years ago. I think that stood for “People Can’t Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms”. :smack: The “official” name of the standard was Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, but as you indicated, the unofficial version was much more widely known. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-that-dont-stand-for-anything-anymore/573982/105 "2011-09-08T13:54:53Z")
Zombie. Seriously, there ought to be a rule that you have to at least read a thread before posting to it. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-that-dont-stand-for-anything-anymore/573982/106 "2011-09-08T13:58:34Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > Zombie. > > Seriously, there ought to be a rule that you have to at least read a thread before posting to it. The thread is a general question. So what if it is a zombie? There’s no reason why new answers to the factual question are any less informative than old answers. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-that-dont-stand-for-anything-anymore/573982/107 "2011-09-08T14:50:51Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Acronym, if you’re a pig. And if one isn’t? My point was just that the distinction between “acronym” and “abbreviation” is not so clear-cut now that acronyms are ubiquitous and spelled and voiced in lots of ways. It’s not clear enough to justify pedantry. URL is another example (some say “U R L”, others say “earl”). ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-that-dont-stand-for-anything-anymore/573982/108 "2011-09-08T15:06:35Z")
> [@Scougs](#): > > Niptick. > > Most of the examples here are abbreviations, not acronyms. It is only an acronym if the abbreviation forms a word that can be said aloud. > > Scuba, Radar, Laser, Basic, Twain - acronyms > BP, MTV, IEEE, USB, BASF, IBM - abbreviations I disagree with this nitpick. Both of those are examples of abbreviations. The specific term for the second type you mention is initialism. IOW, acronyms are abbreviations that you can pronounce and initialisms are ones you can’t. Here’s a good wiki page and it gives some examples including ones that are combinations of the two. > **[Acronym](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym_and_initialism)** > > An acronym is an abbreviation primarily formed using the initial letters of a multi-word name or phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial letter of each word in all caps with no punctuation. > > In English the word is used in two ways. In the narrow sense, an acronym is a sequence of letters (representing the initial letters of words in a phrase) when pronounced together as a single word; for example, NASA, NATO, or laser. In the broad sense, the term includes this kind of sequence whe... ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-that-dont-stand-for-anything-anymore/573982/109 "2011-09-08T15:13:11Z")
CATV, which people use to mean “cable television”, with cable networks and so on. It originally stood for “Community Antenna Television”. Cable started as a way to get broadcast tv in fringe areas. Somebody would put up a big huge antenna with appropriate transmission equipment, and charge people a fee to run cables to nearby houses. Some of these things were local coop arrangements. Eventually they realized there was a whole lot of unused bandwidth, and they started supplementing their offerings with local programming on unused channels and so on. Eventually, whole cable networks arose. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-that-dont-stand-for-anything-anymore/573982/110 "2011-09-08T15:17:17Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > Zombie. > > Seriously, there ought to be a rule that you have to at least read a thread before posting to it. It’s quite possible to read the content without looking at the dates. Or, for that matter, the authors. ---
**Author:** ![Scougs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scougs/32/3158_2.png) [@Scougs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scougs)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-that-dont-stand-for-anything-anymore/573982/111 "2011-09-08T15:43:02Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > I disagree with this nitpick. Both of those are examples of abbreviations. The specific term for the second type you mention is initialism. IOW, acronyms are abbreviations that you can pronounce and initialisms are ones you can’t. Here’s a good wiki page and it gives some examples including ones that are combinations of the two. > > [Acronym - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym_and_initialism) Nah, you’ve just nitpicked my nitpick. I did say that acronyms are abbreviations that can be said aloud. Therefore acronyms are a particular type of abbreviation, and so are initialisms. But whereas all of the examples in the thread were abbreviations, they were not all acronyms. And is it really a zombie if it’s from earlier this year, or just kind of not-quite-dead-yet? ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-that-dont-stand-for-anything-anymore/573982/112 "2011-09-08T16:09:35Z")
> [@Scougs](#): > > Nah, you’ve just nitpicked my nitpick. Yep and both your nitpicks are meaningless and impractical as I’ve tried to point out. A word like URL may be spoken differently by different people, and many even write it in lowercase in practice, so I don’t see where you’d even begin to classify it. In fact, the distinction between acronym and abbreviations has become so meaningless I’m glad that “acronym” is becoming an umbrella term in casual usage. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-that-dont-stand-for-anything-anymore/573982/113 "2011-09-08T16:17:03Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > And if one isn’t? Then don’t take any canoe rides through Georgia. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-that-dont-stand-for-anything-anymore/573982/114 "2011-09-08T17:05:07Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > Zombie. zymotic obtuse message brought into eyesight ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-that-dont-stand-for-anything-anymore/573982/115 "2011-09-08T17:21:52Z")
Necco = New England Candy Company ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-that-dont-stand-for-anything-anymore/573982/116 "2011-09-08T17:24:11Z")
I actually pronounce SQL as “sequel”. I don’t think I’m the only one… ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-that-dont-stand-for-anything-anymore/573982/117 "2011-09-08T18:51:02Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Acronym, if you’re a pig. > [@Mijin](#): > > And if one isn’t? I’m guessing he pronounces SQL something like “squeel”, although like **Jas09** below, I pronounce it “sequel”. Isn’t that standard? > [@Jas09](#): > > I actually pronounce SQL as “sequel”. I don’t think I’m the only one… ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-that-dont-stand-for-anything-anymore/573982/118 "2011-09-08T18:54:01Z")
**AO Sound** I still see this at the end of movies. The AO Sound system was originally the accompaniment to the **Todd-AO** Wide-Screen system, a sort of pre-IMAX projection system that used state-of-the-art anamorphic lenses and needed a special “wraparound” screen for projection. There were very few of these theaters, and very few movies made for it, but they included _Oklahoma!_, _Around the World in 80 Days_, and _The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm_. If you saw any of thedse films in a regular theater, or have seen VHS or DVD versions, or on television, you have missed a _big_ part of the presentation, and most of the picture. look up “Todd-AO” with a search engine. The “AO” part was American Optical, because they designed the lenses. AO was one of the biggest optics companies in the world at the time – they provided eyeglasses to most of the US, and equipment to Opticians and ophthalmologists. Later on they went into pioneering fiber optics and inventing the neodymium glass laser and the like. The company was broken up and sold piecemeal by the last owners shortly after the company’s 150th anniversary, with the last chunk of it sold off in 2004. Aside from possibly an office in Connecticut, there is no more AO. But the name of the sound system associated with their venture into movies remains as a legacy of the company. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-that-dont-stand-for-anything-anymore/573982/119 "2011-09-08T19:25:44Z")
> [@Canadjun](#): > > I’m guessing he pronounces SQL something like “squeel”, Actually, I’ve always used the banal pronounciation “Ess-Queue-Ell”. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-that-dont-stand-for-anything-anymore/573982/120 "2011-09-08T19:32:40Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > I actually pronounce SQL as “sequel”. I don’t think I’m the only one… I flip between that and pronouncing each letter, with no logic behind why I choose one over the other. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-that-dont-stand-for-anything-anymore/573982.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-that-dont-stand-for-anything-anymore/573982.md?page=7)