# Need meaning of contraction, please **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 26, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-meaning-of-contraction-please/645203 "2012-12-26T18:51:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-meaning-of-contraction-please/645203/1 "2012-12-26T18:51:51Z")
What does \*tl:dr \*mean? I’ve seen it in several threads, but I can’t decipher it or figure it out via context. Thanks, medstar. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-meaning-of-contraction-please/645203/2 "2012-12-26T18:52:28Z")
“Too long, didn’t read.” ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-meaning-of-contraction-please/645203/3 "2012-12-26T19:19:45Z")
That’s harsh. You could at least have answered his question! ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-meaning-of-contraction-please/645203/4 "2012-12-26T19:22:48Z")
It’s not a contraction, it’s an acronym. [/nitpick] ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-meaning-of-contraction-please/645203/5 "2012-12-26T19:26:28Z")
One of my favorite reference sites is [Acronym Finder](http://www.acronymfinder.com/). It has rarely let me down. For tldr, it returned: \*\*\* TLDR Too Long; Didn’t Read (aka Too Long; Don’t Read) \*\* TLDR Too Long; Don’t Read (aka Too Long; Didn’t Read) \*\* TLDR Top Level Domain Registry - TLDR Top Level Design Review ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-meaning-of-contraction-please/645203/6 "2012-12-26T19:33:41Z")
During a tornado it means “trailer landing; duck and run”. ---
**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:** [December 26, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-meaning-of-contraction-please/645203/7 "2012-12-26T19:50:34Z")
It’s usually posted in response to a previous post that is a huge wall o’ text with many run-on sentences and no paragraph breaks. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-meaning-of-contraction-please/645203/8 "2012-12-26T19:55:34Z")
It’s other use is if someone realised their post was a bit of an essay, they might offer a tl;dr version (ie a summary). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-meaning-of-contraction-please/645203/9 "2012-12-26T20:12:55Z")
Too iLliterate, Dumb (as a ) Rock. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-meaning-of-contraction-please/645203/10 "2012-12-27T01:56:21Z")
Thanks everyone; I consider my ignorance corrected. Now that I know the meaning, I do remember that the preceding posts were rather wordy and difficult to follow. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-meaning-of-contraction-please/645203/11 "2012-12-27T02:10:47Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Too iLliterate, Dumb (as a ) Rock. Too labored. Don’t reach. ---
**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:** [December 27, 2012, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-meaning-of-contraction-please/645203/12 "2012-12-27T02:33:58Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > It’s not a contraction, it’s an acronym. [/nitpick] Actually, it’s an Initialism. Acronyms have to be read as words. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-meaning-of-contraction-please/645203/13 "2012-12-27T02:57:37Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Actually, it’s an Initialism. Acronyms have to be read as words. [Like this?](http://s570.beta.photobucket.com/user/MetroidBob/media/TEAL_DEER.jpg.html) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-meaning-of-contraction-please/645203/14 "2012-12-27T04:02:51Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > [Like this?](http://s570.beta.photobucket.com/user/MetroidBob/media/TEAL_DEER.jpg.html) > > 😉 Yes, Dear. -D/a