# Amazingly Amusing Acronyms! Examples of Acronyms used for comic effect. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 13, 2006, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazingly-amusing-acronyms-examples-of-acronyms-used-for-comic-effect/368558 "2006-08-13T15:58:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazingly-amusing-acronyms-examples-of-acronyms-used-for-comic-effect/368558/21 "2006-08-13T22:21:34Z")
In the 1970’s, DC Comics had a group called the All-Star Squadron, but as far as I know, only Fred Hembeck ever used their initials… ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazingly-amusing-acronyms-examples-of-acronyms-used-for-comic-effect/368558/22 "2006-08-13T22:40:03Z")
When I attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the university had four letter acronyms for each department to be used when filling out official forms. (This was done, no doubt, to save room on the [punch cards](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punch_cards).) English was ENGL, History was HIST, Physics was PHYS, PE was officially called “Physcal Activity”, and was PHYA, etc. A female friend of mine was filling out the forms to declare her major in Comparative Literature. That department only offered upper-level courses, so she had not signed up for anything in the Comparative Literature department before then. She noticed for the first time that the Comparative Literature’s official abbreviation took the first letter from Comparative, and the first three letters from Literature. My friend then said to her undergraduate advisor (also female), “You mean I’m a - a - **CLIT Major**?!?” :eek: :smack: “Yes. Unfortunate, isn’t it?” More fun with acronyms. UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke U, and North Carolna State U are in relatively close proximity. People started referring to that part of central North Carolina as “the Triangle”. I don’t know if that predated the founding of [Research Triangle Park](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_Triangle_Park), which was going strong when I arrived in the area. But some of the collaborations between the three universities were named “Triangle Universities Something or another”. For example [Triangle Universities Nuclear Lab (TUNL)](http://www.tunl.duke.edu/), and the now defunct [Triangle Universisites Cmputing Center (TUCC)](http://www.lib.duke.edu/archives/holdings/campus/tucc.html). Somebody got the bright idea to start an “Center for Advanced Studies” in the Triangle area. Moments before the official press conference announcing this grand scheme, after months if not years of preparation, someone noticed that the acronym for “Triangle Universities Center for Advanced Studies” - TUCAS - sounds like the Yiddsh word for ass. 😕 :eek: :smack: :smack: :smack: Then one board member said, “Wait a sec - we’re incorporated, aren’t we?” Yes. “Well then, we’re TUCASI”. A quick correction was made to the program, and “heaving a huge sigh of relief smilies” were handed out to all the SDMB members. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazingly-amusing-acronyms-examples-of-acronyms-used-for-comic-effect/368558/23 "2006-08-13T23:07:18Z")
[QUOTE=Chefguy] It was also the favorite word in lieu of a curse word in an old comic strip, possibly Bringing Up Father, but something tells me maybe not. Anyway, whenever frustrated to anger, the character would say “Fap!” [/QUOTE] It was Major Hoople of [_Our Boarding House_](http://www.toonopedia.com/hoople.htm), who had quite a variety of expletives at his disposal. From the linked page: > [@](#): > > In addition to near-archaic expressions like “egad” and “drat”, he was often heard mouthing such non-words as “fap”, “awp” and “kaff” . ---
**Author:** ![ryobserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@ryobserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryobserver)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazingly-amusing-acronyms-examples-of-acronyms-used-for-comic-effect/368558/24 "2006-08-13T23:57:43Z")
Two lavish sources of comic acronyms, or use of initials for comic effect in general, are old railroad names (and railroad buffs) and the British military. For old railroads there’s a list [here.](http://www.spikesys.com/Trains/nickname.html) My personal favorite, for the Jamestown, Westfield and Northwestern, is said to have been coined by a traveling salesman after a bad night on the line. For the British military, I haven’t found a web site, but Simon Cullen’s “Soldier Talk” is full of examples. For the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment: The Queen’s Last Resort; Queers, Lesbians and Rejects; and Quick, Let’s Run. For the Royal Corps of Transport: Reject Combat Troops; Reckless C\*\*ts in Trucks; and Rubbish Carts and Trollies. Then there’s the infamous “Rob All My Comrades” for the Royal Army Medical Corps, who were suspected of stealing casualties’ effects in World War I. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazingly-amusing-acronyms-examples-of-acronyms-used-for-comic-effect/368558/25 "2006-08-14T01:28:21Z")
The E-M-F automobile’s name actually honored the company’s founders, Everitt, Metzger, and Flanders. The initials, however, soon inspired such witty interpetations as [“Every Morning Fix-it”, “Every Mechanic’s Friend”, “Eternally Missing Fire”, and “Every Mechanical Fault”](http://dreamwater.org/emfauto/EMF_history_P1.html). Fiat (actually an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino, or Italian Automobile Factory of Turin) was said by wags to stand for “Fires (or Failures) In All Temperatures”. Then there are the make and model names recast as acronyms, such as the following: Ford – Fix or Repair Daily, Found on Road Dead Chevrolet – Cracked Heads, Every Valve Rusts, Oil Leaks Every Time Pontiac – Poor Old Nincompoop\* Thinks It’s A Cadillac - the sanitized version, as opposed to the original, which featured a racial slur ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazingly-amusing-acronyms-examples-of-acronyms-used-for-comic-effect/368558/26 "2006-08-14T02:22:48Z")
What, no _FUBAR_ post yet? I can understand why: we all know it stands for **F** ound **U** nder **B** oulders and **R** ocks. ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazingly-amusing-acronyms-examples-of-acronyms-used-for-comic-effect/368558/27 "2006-08-14T03:01:18Z")
[QUOTE=Spongemom] [An inherited condition](http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/fpc.htm) caused by a mutation in a gene that is inherited in an autosomal dominant way. Or… [“Fap”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fap) is also an onomatopoeia and a verb referring to masturbation, gaining popularity after its use in the webcomic Sexy Losers. The slang meaning for the word, “to masturbate furiously” [/QUOTE] Trust me, I wasn’t amused because it was an autosomal gene mutation. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazingly-amusing-acronyms-examples-of-acronyms-used-for-comic-effect/368558/28 "2006-08-14T03:34:43Z")
Not a real one, but I was watching _Friends_ the other day, and it was the episode where Chandler talks to his boss about the Weekly Estimated Net Usage Statistics, and his boss mentions the Annual Net Usage Statistics… There is a company I’m applying to work for that refers to itself as PMS when not using it’s full name. ---
**Author:** ![Danja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@Danja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danja)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazingly-amusing-acronyms-examples-of-acronyms-used-for-comic-effect/368558/29 "2006-08-14T03:35:47Z")
The one I’ve always heard for UCLA is “University of Caucasians Lost in Asia” due to the high number of foreign engineering students. I got a laugh out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazingly-amusing-acronyms-examples-of-acronyms-used-for-comic-effect/368558/30 "2006-08-14T04:02:57Z")
There’s are lots of good ones in the Unix/Linux tradition. **TLA** – Three Letter Acronym **FMH** – (used when needing to express extreme frustration in mixed company) Fuck Me Harder **GNU** – (one of many self-referential acronyms) GNU’s Not Unix **INTERCAL** – (an elaborate practical joke of a convoluted, yet still funcitonal, programming language) Computer Language With No Pronouncable Acronym And a few from a British TV series called _Yes, Minister_, a political satire on the civil service. When discussing the honors routinely granted to senior bureaucrats with a particular government ministry, officially the Cross of St. Michael and St. George ( **CMG** ), Knight’s Cross of St. Michael and St. George ( **KCMG** ) and the Grand Cross of St. Michael and St. George ( **GCMG** ), Bernard explains that within that ministry CMG stands for “call me God”, KCMG for “kindly call me God”, and GCMG for “God calls me God”. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazingly-amusing-acronyms-examples-of-acronyms-used-for-comic-effect/368558/31 "2006-08-14T04:26:04Z")
The [Lexington-Fayette Urban County](http://www.lfucg.com/) in Kentucky never _ever_ uses its initials, preferring instead to append the word _Government_ (LFUCG). There’s also a Lexington-Fayette Urban County _Council_, which never uses its initials, either. > [@Robot Arm](#): > > GNU – (one of many self-referential acronyms) GNU’s Not Unix > > INTERCAL – (an elaborate practical joke of a convoluted, yet still funcitonal, programming language) Computer Language With No Pronouncable Acronym I was told by an EECS\* major at Michigan years ago that the name of the programming language APL stood for “A Programming Language.” \*Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, pron. “eeks.” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazingly-amusing-acronyms-examples-of-acronyms-used-for-comic-effect/368558/32 "2006-08-14T05:01:17Z")
[QUOTE=Danja] The one I’ve always heard for UCLA is “University of Caucasians Lost in Asia” due to the high number of foreign engineering students. I got a laugh out of it. [/QUOTE] A better one is the University of California, Irvine, which is better known as the University of Chinese Immigrants. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazingly-amusing-acronyms-examples-of-acronyms-used-for-comic-effect/368558/33 "2006-08-14T05:46:36Z")
When dealing with a snooty or annoying person I sometimes say “see you next time”. C U Next Time. Its a good way to curse at someone without anyone knowing 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazingly-amusing-acronyms-examples-of-acronyms-used-for-comic-effect/368558/34 "2006-08-14T11:05:55Z")
No one’s brought up the Kevin Smith classics, invented entirely for their humor and bearing no basis in reality? **C** oalition for the **L** iberation of **I** tinerate **T** reedwellers which is an offshoot of the **L** iberate **A** pes **B** efore **I** mprisoning **A** pes. I think he oughta get the double word score for that one. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazingly-amusing-acronyms-examples-of-acronyms-used-for-comic-effect/368558/35 "2006-08-14T13:12:27Z")
[QUOTE=blondebear] What, no _FUBAR_ post yet? I can understand why: we all know it stands for **F** ound **U** nder **B** oulders and **R** ocks. [/QUOTE] No, no it isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazingly-amusing-acronyms-examples-of-acronyms-used-for-comic-effect/368558/36 "2006-08-14T14:05:56Z")
Another Dilbertism- TTP, which stands for The TTP Project. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazingly-amusing-acronyms-examples-of-acronyms-used-for-comic-effect/368558/37 "2006-08-14T14:39:43Z")
[QUOTE=Sternvogel] The E-M-F automobile’s name actually honored the company’s founders, Everitt, Metzger, and Flanders. The initials, however, soon inspired such witty interpetations as [“Every Morning Fix-it”, “Every Mechanic’s Friend”, “Eternally Missing Fire”, and “Every Mechanical Fault”](http://dreamwater.org/emfauto/EMF_history_P1.html). Fiat (actually an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino, or Italian Automobile Factory of Turin) was said by wags to stand for “Fires (or Failures) In All Temperatures”. Then there are the make and model names recast as acronyms, such as the following: Ford – Fix or Repair Daily, Found on Road Dead Chevrolet – Cracked Heads, Every Valve Rusts, Oil Leaks Every Time Pontiac – Poor Old Nincompoop\* Thinks It’s A Cadillac - the sanitized version, as opposed to the original, which featured a racial slur [/QUOTE] I always heard Fiat as “Fix it again, Tony” ---
**Author:** ![dasgupta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@dasgupta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasgupta)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazingly-amusing-acronyms-examples-of-acronyms-used-for-comic-effect/368558/38 "2006-08-14T14:52:11Z")
I was always a fan of the (fake) acronym for PC cards before they were called PC cards - PCMCIA. **P** eople **C** an’t **M** emorize **C** omputer **I** ndustry **A** cronyms Of course, there’s also PEBKAC - **P** roblem **E** xists **B** etween **K** eyboard **A** nd **C** hair ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazingly-amusing-acronyms-examples-of-acronyms-used-for-comic-effect/368558/39 "2006-08-14T15:11:17Z")
There’s always TWAIN: Technology Without An Interesting Name. Back in the 60s, the Boston newspapers refused to abbreviate the [**B** oston **R** edevelopment **A** uthority](http://www.cityofboston.gov/bra/default.asp). It looks like the acronym is acceptable now, though. ---
**Author:** ![ColonelDax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazingly-amusing-acronyms-examples-of-acronyms-used-for-comic-effect/368558/40 "2006-08-14T15:19:27Z")
Belgian flag airline Sabena (Societe Anonyme Belge d’Exploitation de la Navigation Aerienne) is now defunct, which is a shame as travelers no longer have the opportunity to joke that the name actually stands for Such A Bad Experience, Never Again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazingly-amusing-acronyms-examples-of-acronyms-used-for-comic-effect/368558.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazingly-amusing-acronyms-examples-of-acronyms-used-for-comic-effect/368558.md?page=3)