# New to this forum. What's "IANA", "IANAL" and "WAG"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 19, 2008, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-to-this-forum-whats-iana-ianal-and-wag/477992 "2008-12-19T23:10:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-to-this-forum-whats-iana-ianal-and-wag/477992/1 "2008-12-19T23:10:14Z")
I see it in shorthand often but can’t figure it out. It’s probably something really basic that will make me feel stupid for not knowing… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-to-this-forum-whats-iana-ianal-and-wag/477992/2 "2008-12-19T23:10:56Z")
I Am Not A I Am Not A Lawyer Wager A Guess ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-to-this-forum-whats-iana-ianal-and-wag/477992/3 "2008-12-19T23:12:14Z")
WAG can be and is often used to mean “Wild-Assed Guess” here too. If someone goes “My WAG is…” they’re not saying “My Wager A Guess is…” ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-to-this-forum-whats-iana-ianal-and-wag/477992/4 "2008-12-19T23:12:32Z")
Damn, I thought IANAL was if they liked anal sex. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-to-this-forum-whats-iana-ianal-and-wag/477992/5 "2008-12-19T23:59:48Z")
[thread=320298]SDMB Glossary[/thread] ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-to-this-forum-whats-iana-ianal-and-wag/477992/6 "2008-12-20T00:18:43Z")
> [@Mudshark](#): > > Damn, I thought IANAL was if they liked anal sex. No, that would be I [heart] ANAL. **Mudshark** , I’m looking at your location and resisting the temptation to go all Arlen Specter on you. (I kid! I kid! Poland is a lovely place. I used to drive through it every time I went to visit a client in Bessemer, PA.) ---
**Author:** ![Alienhand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@Alienhand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alienhand)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-to-this-forum-whats-iana-ianal-and-wag/477992/7 "2008-12-20T01:27:32Z")
[abbreviations.com](http://www.abbreviations.com/) is useful for anything you come across that’s not in the SDMB Glossary. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-to-this-forum-whats-iana-ianal-and-wag/477992/8 "2008-12-20T01:28:32Z")
Official meaning of MPSIMS – Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share What I and some other posters think seeing MPSIMS – Mundane Pointless Shit I Must Share I always read WAG as Wild Ass Guess. Sorry that’s just some mundane pointless shit I must share.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-to-this-forum-whats-iana-ianal-and-wag/477992/9 "2008-12-20T04:50:24Z")
> [@](#): > > Official meaning of MPSIMS – Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share It was that or call it the Titanic Wallpaper Forum. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-to-this-forum-whats-iana-ianal-and-wag/477992/10 "2008-12-20T06:32:31Z")
Welcome. Have you already gone through initiation? If not, how did you get in? ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-to-this-forum-whats-iana-ianal-and-wag/477992/11 "2008-12-21T04:28:03Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > No, that would be I [heart] ANAL. > > **Mudshark** , I’m looking at your location and resisting the temptation to go all Arlen Specter on you. (I kid! I kid! Poland is a lovely place. I used to drive through it every time I went to visit a client in Bessemer, PA.) Until this past August, I lived within walking distance of Bessemer. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-to-this-forum-whats-iana-ianal-and-wag/477992/12 "2008-12-21T05:12:20Z")
Huh, all this time I always thought WAG was “Well, A Guess”, even when used in terms of “My WAG”, as in the “My” was just added to the acronym. I can’t remember where I first thought of this, but my WAG is that I saw it in context of guesses or assumptions and just kinda guessed right on the “G” part and and got the other two wrong.