# Acronyms you misunderstood and gave a false meaning/etymology to **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 25, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-you-misunderstood-and-gave-a-false-meaning-etymology-to/968551 "2022-07-25T20:10:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-you-misunderstood-and-gave-a-false-meaning-etymology-to/968551/1 "2022-07-25T20:10:30Z")
Saw the acronym POSSLQ [in this thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-moments-when-the-stars-align-how-did-they-turn-out-for-you-in-the-long-term/968510/4), and was confused because it seemed to describe a heterosexual relationship… You see, I thought the acronym in question meant _Person of Same Sex Lesbian Queer_. I have no idea where or when I assumed that, just kind of picked it up when I heard it mentioned in a sitcom or something years ago (when I likely wasn’t paying close attention to the context). Another one is sort of a double meaning backronym that has two slightly different origins. AOR music. I always assumed that it meant Album Oriented Radio, radio format in the US in the 70’s which often played “deep” non-single cuts. Fast forward 30 years, and I’d see it used in contexts which had nothing to do with North American radio formats per se. Was confused until a quick Googling revealed it had somehow_emphasized text_ morphed into Adult Oriented Rock. To make it worse, the two meanings overlap a bit, in that such bands were often played on album-oriented stations back in the day, tho many which were would not qualify as adult-oriented rock per se now. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-you-misunderstood-and-gave-a-false-meaning-etymology-to/968551/2 "2022-07-25T20:12:44Z")
Before I figured out what it meant, I thought QFT meant “quit fucking trolling”. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-you-misunderstood-and-gave-a-false-meaning-etymology-to/968551/3 "2022-07-25T20:14:30Z")
The first ten dozen times or so that saw “LOL” online, I thought it meant “lots of luck”, which by sheer coincidence made sense in the first couple dozen contexts where I saw it. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-you-misunderstood-and-gave-a-false-meaning-etymology-to/968551/4 "2022-07-25T21:11:50Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > The first ten dozen times or so that saw “LOL” online, I thought it meant “lots of luck”… And then there’s the old joke about the person who thought it meant ‘lots of love’ and texted to a friend whose spouse died “so sorry for your loss-- LOL”. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-you-misunderstood-and-gave-a-false-meaning-etymology-to/968551/5 "2022-07-25T21:16:20Z")
I’m not sure to this day whether SMH means So Much Hate or Shaking My Head. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-you-misunderstood-and-gave-a-false-meaning-etymology-to/968551/6 "2022-07-25T21:20:08Z")
If a parent or anyone over 40 asks what “I’m DTF” means, the answer is “I’m Doing The Facebook”. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-you-misunderstood-and-gave-a-false-meaning-etymology-to/968551/7 "2022-07-25T22:14:35Z")
“SJW” originally (?) Meant Single Jewish Woman, not Social Justice Warrior like it does now (and the latter acquired a negative connotation at some point. So I’d see SJW in a political (vs. romantic) context, and get a bit nonplussed. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-you-misunderstood-and-gave-a-false-meaning-etymology-to/968551/8 "2022-07-26T03:41:32Z")
During the 1970’s oil crisis, I asked my Mom what OPEC stood for. She confidently answered “Oil Producing Economic Community.” Even long after I Iearned the correct meaning (“Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries”), I still think of my Mom’s false meaning first. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-you-misunderstood-and-gave-a-false-meaning-etymology-to/968551/9 "2022-07-26T03:53:37Z")
I still dont know what NTF is ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-you-misunderstood-and-gave-a-false-meaning-etymology-to/968551/10 "2022-07-26T03:59:20Z")
I don’t know if the Q in LGBTQ(IAetc.) used to mean questioning and then changed to queer, or if I was always wrong about that. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-you-misunderstood-and-gave-a-false-meaning-etymology-to/968551/11 "2022-07-26T04:14:39Z")
Nobody does. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-you-misunderstood-and-gave-a-false-meaning-etymology-to/968551/12 "2022-07-26T04:35:31Z")
Is a RPG a Role Playing Game or a Rocket Propelled Grenade. Little differences can be important. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-you-misunderstood-and-gave-a-false-meaning-etymology-to/968551/13 "2022-07-26T05:20:47Z")
I hate to be …whatever,but none of these are acronyms. They are all initialisms. For it to be an acronym, it must be spoken as a word. [Initialism](https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/abbreviation-vs-acronym-vs-initialism-grammar-rules#:~:text=Acronyms%20are%20always%20initialisms%20and,the%20initialism) > Only initialisms that can be pronounced as a word (as opposed to pronouncing each letter in the initialism) count as acronyms I will leave now. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-you-misunderstood-and-gave-a-false-meaning-etymology-to/968551/14 "2022-07-26T06:37:36Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > I still dont know what NTF is Non Tokenable Funge? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-you-misunderstood-and-gave-a-false-meaning-etymology-to/968551/15 "2022-07-26T12:02:34Z")
FTW used to mean Fuck The World! A term of frustration and anger. Then it changed to mean For The Win, the complete opposite, a term of joy and anticipation. It confused me for a very long time. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-you-misunderstood-and-gave-a-false-meaning-etymology-to/968551/16 "2022-07-26T12:04:25Z")
I’d probably been posting here for at least ten or fifteen years before I figured out that “ETA” meant “edited to add”. Before that I’d only ever known it as “estimated time of arrival”. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-you-misunderstood-and-gave-a-false-meaning-etymology-to/968551/17 "2022-07-26T12:08:32Z")
RPG is also an IBM programming language. _Report Program Generator_ Sadly it is not useful for programming RPG video games. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-you-misunderstood-and-gave-a-false-meaning-etymology-to/968551/18 "2022-07-26T12:15:56Z")
I always thought OPEC meant Oil Producing and Exporting Countries. I still tend to go to that first, and have to remind myself of what it really stands for (on those very rare occasions where I need to use the full name). ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-you-misunderstood-and-gave-a-false-meaning-etymology-to/968551/19 "2022-07-26T12:17:24Z")
> [@teelabrown](#): > > Before I figured out what it meant, I thought QFT meant “quit fucking trolling”. Strong +1. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-you-misunderstood-and-gave-a-false-meaning-etymology-to/968551/20 "2022-07-26T12:27:58Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > RPG is also an IBM programming language. _Report Program Generator_ > > Sadly it is not useful for programming RPG video games. Way back in the day when I first heard about RPG gaming, I thought it referred to shoot-em-up games using Rocket Propelled Grenades. And some RPGs do use RPGs. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-you-misunderstood-and-gave-a-false-meaning-etymology-to/968551.md?page=2)