# Cwqwtoooa **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 5, 2015, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cwqwtoooa/736755 "2015-11-05T20:59:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cwqwtoooa/736755/21 "2015-11-05T23:06:55Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I’ve been in the Army. I can have entire conversations consisting of nothing but acronyms. Gamer here; ditto. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cwqwtoooa/736755/22 "2015-11-05T23:13:58Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > ATIMPIHAATELAWH. space x ISWYDT 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cwqwtoooa/736755/23 "2015-11-06T01:00:37Z")
The first obscure acronym I used was inspired by Unca Cece: EMWIGMT And I use that a lot when talking politics. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cwqwtoooa/736755/24 "2015-11-06T02:02:39Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > SD? Well-played, sir. SuperDreadnought, of course (ship class in David Weber’s Honorverse SF series) Straight Dope (SD) is what I should have said. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cwqwtoooa/736755/25 "2015-11-06T02:06:55Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > The first obscure acronym I used was inspired by Unca Cece: EMWIGMT > > And I use that a lot when talking politics. 🙂 Would you care to share? I tried Googling it, but couldn’t find anything. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cwqwtoooa/736755/26 "2015-11-06T04:42:48Z")
Having recently finally had the chance to play “cwm”, I was hoping this was a new Scrabble word. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cwqwtoooa/736755/27 "2015-11-06T05:05:52Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Having recently finally had the chance to play “cwm”, I was hoping this was a new Scrabble word. ☹ Exactly the word I thought of when I said it could be pronounced. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cwqwtoooa/736755/28 "2015-11-06T12:24:40Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > In our Office, you’re expected to spell out the item the first time and put the acronym in parentheses, but after that you use the acronym. > > But this is a Government organization and this is the SD, so… This is pretty standard and makes good sense. For the record, not all initializations are acronyms. An acronym are initials that form a “word”, like NATO or NASA. Initializations like SD, ATMB, IBM, ICBM, are not acronyms. That said, I agree with the OP wholeheartedly. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cwqwtoooa/736755/29 "2015-11-06T12:56:54Z")
iitywimwybmad? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cwqwtoooa/736755/30 "2015-11-06T13:18:43Z")
I’m a little embarrassed to admit for the longest time, I thought **QFT** was an acronym for “Quite Fucking True” as opposed to “Quoted For Truth”. Personally, I like my version better. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cwqwtoooa/736755/31 "2015-11-06T13:31:28Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Would you care to share? I tried Googling it, but couldn’t find anything. I got **edible midgets weigh in** , but I’m stuck for the rest. Probably **gastro** something. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cwqwtoooa/736755/32 "2015-11-06T13:47:17Z")
I’m with the OP on this. And while I think 70% of the general population is too high a bar, 70% of your likely audience is probably about right. (You should have some sort of intuition about this, in a forum you spend a decent amount of time in.) And I’m sure FN/DPP would easily fail here. > [@Duckster](#): > > [http://www.slideshare.net/sidekick/20-email-acronyms-to-learn-now-so-we-dont-feel-dumb-later](http://www.slideshare.net/sidekick/20-email-acronyms-to-learn-now-so-we-dont-feel-dumb-later) More than half of them, I have no recollection of seeing in any context. These include NRN, LET, PRB, HTH (not counting the pool supply company; I’m familiar with them from way back), WFH (which means teleworking, who needs an acronym?), TLTR, OOO (we leave out-of-office automated email replies when we’re out, so kinda pointless), EOD (we use COB = close of business), EOW (=COB Friday), LMK, TYT. I guess these aren’t used around my office. And the rest of them are pretty obvious if you’ve spent more than three months online. FYI and Y/N predate the Web by eons; IMO, BTW, FWIW, IDK, SFW - picked up all these in my first weeks on this board, if not during my first weeks with email an age ago. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cwqwtoooa/736755/33 "2015-11-06T13:55:26Z")
I once read a rant about TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms). I should have figured it out by context, but eventually googled. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cwqwtoooa/736755/34 "2015-11-06T14:03:09Z")
I’m totally with the OP on this. You’re either striving to be clear, and understood, or you’re just setting people up to ask, ‘please tell us, oh much smarter person than us, what does this mean?’ And it’s laughably transparent. Embarrassingly so. Like snobs throwing in some Latin, just because! The Economist, respected and internationally read, has the simple protocal previously mentioned, which they share we most publishers; first usage, spell it out with Capitals, after which abbreviate at will! It’s simple, it’s elegant, and halfway through, if you should get confused, you can always refer back to earlier in the article for clarity. It should be the standard, in my humble opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cwqwtoooa/736755/35 "2015-11-06T14:05:52Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I’m a little embarrassed to admit for the longest time, I thought **QFT** was an acronym for “Quite Fucking True” as opposed to “Quoted For Truth”. > > Personally, I like my version better. [You](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18706464&postcount=27) [aren’t](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14928097&postcount=4) [alone](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10961974&postcount=41). ---
**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:** [November 6, 2015, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cwqwtoooa/736755/36 "2015-11-06T14:12:29Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > If your acronym is not something that at least 70% of the general population would get, just type the damn words out. For the most part, I agree with you, but I can’t agree with this line. It should be some majority of the audience. As a government contractor working in IT, acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations… they LOVE them. Hell, there’s phrases I use regularly where I have NO IDEA what the actual phrase is, but I know what it is in context. My previous job was as a military contractor in IT, and I think we’d have conversations where close to half the “words” are abbreviations of some sort. I’m also a gamer, though I’ve recently cut back, and a huge amount of the lingo there is various abbreviations too. But I do see a large difference between using a common abbreviation that everyone knows, or one that the audience should be familiar with, and either making one up or using one that audience doesn’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cwqwtoooa/736755/37 "2015-11-06T15:14:07Z")
Today’s _Pearls Before Swine_ is quite [appropriate](http://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine). ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cwqwtoooa/736755/38 "2015-11-06T15:44:23Z")
> [@bigt](#): > > then all she has to say is that it’s pronounce coo-koo-too-uh. > > I tend to avoid acronyms until i’ve seen them used here by multiple people. wygaflasmtrfbbyeflmfgmthtbmtltjsiymbbtrfmbfmymmfsjktyaotdnbltfb ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cwqwtoooa/736755/39 "2015-11-06T17:41:28Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > I’m totally with the OP on this. You’re either striving to be clear, and understood, or you’re just setting people up to ask, ‘please tell us, oh much smarter person than us, what does this mean?’ > > And it’s laughably transparent. Embarrassingly so. Like snobs throwing in some Latin, just because! The Economist, respected and internationally read, has the simple protocal previously mentioned, which they share we most publishers; first usage, spell it out with Capitals, after which abbreviate at will! > > It’s simple, it’s elegant, and halfway through, if you should get confused, you can always refer back to earlier in the article for clarity. > > It should be the standard, in my humble opinion. Yeah, that’s been pretty much the guideline with journalistic publication, at least: use the full name on first reference and then the abbreviation/acronym on subsequent references. My AP Style guide does allow for some organizations to be abbreviated on first reference, like CIA, FBI, and NASA, but, in general, they should be spelled out first and even on additional references, urges writers and editors to be careful and avoid alphabet soup. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cwqwtoooa/736755/40 "2015-11-06T18:01:00Z")
We could just stop using acronyms entirely and start typing the damn words out [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cwqwtoooa/736755.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cwqwtoooa/736755.md?page=3)