# Poorly Thought-Out Abbreviations
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-abbreviations/523743
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [January 5, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-abbreviations/523743 "2010-01-05T14:18:30Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)
#### Post date: [January 5, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-abbreviations/523743/1 "2010-01-05T14:18:30Z")
In my job, companies sign on to use our products, and if they’re big enough, someone on my team gets assigned to work with them. My latest assignment is a company by the name of Bombardier.
Now, when the Sales team sets up their account, there are a couple of specific ways that they go about setting up their product login. Their main username is usually the company name (truncated, if necessary), followed by a two-letter code specifying which product their using. In this case, the code is “fs”.
So, what login name did Sales give them? “bombardierfs”? No…the system can handle logins of that length, but it’s a little cumbersome. “bombardfs”? “bombafs”? No and no. Instead, every time these good folks want to log into our system, the’ll be using the user ID “bombarfs”.
Classy move, guys…
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### Author:  [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)
#### Post date: [January 5, 2010, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-abbreviations/523743/2 "2010-01-05T14:42:33Z")
Related: We have an employee by the name of Gina Va. So, every time her email pops up in an inbox, it shows as “Va, Gina”.
I actually don’t think they can do anything simple to work around that, but it certainly is unfortunate.
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### Author:  [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)
#### Post date: [January 5, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-abbreviations/523743/3 "2010-01-05T14:51:15Z")
What kind of parents, with the surname of Gina, would name their daughter Va?
My only hope is that they were non-English speaking, as this is the only excuse I would accept!
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### Author:  [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)
#### Post date: [January 5, 2010, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-abbreviations/523743/4 "2010-01-05T14:55:22Z")
Once in a great while I encounter an abbreviation at a doctor’s office I work in that tickles me- when someone indicates that a patient is in for a follow-up/check. (Normally they’d say follow-up OR check.) This is indicated by fu/ck. I always ask the doctor if he’s eaten his Wheaties that day. 😃
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [January 5, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-abbreviations/523743/5 "2010-01-05T15:03:01Z")
> [@](#):
>
> What kind of parents, with the surname of Gina, would name their daughter Va?
You’ve got it backwards – the surname is “Va”, and her name is shortened to “Gina”. It only looks odd when they’re reversed, but that happens pretty often.
I knew a guy whose first name began with “s”, and whose last name began with “Hite…” The company’s standard method of assigning e-mail addresses by first initial + last name was altered for his case, fortunately – a counter-example of a well-thought out shortening.
An example of a poorly thought-out name resulting in a bad abbreviation was Richard Nixon’s _Committee for the Re-Election of the President_. It should have been obvious to whoever came up with this that their opponents would inevitably abbreviate this as **CREEP**. But apparently it wasn’t.
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### Author:  [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)
#### Post date: [January 5, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-abbreviations/523743/6 "2010-01-05T15:08:04Z")
My first (real) job in Japan was at a translation / documentation / printing company and we did DTP for different electronic companies.
One company made oscilloscopes, and they used four-letter abbreviations for all of the functions.
Since CONT was already in use for Continuous, you can guess what they used for COUNT. :eek:
Oh, and they were going to be selling this overseas, and needed a manual in English as well.
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [January 5, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-abbreviations/523743/7 "2010-01-05T15:09:12Z")
There was the Boston Redevelopment Authority, whose name was never abbreviated in Boston newspapers of the 60s.\*
On our system, there was a Carol with a last name starting with “lit.” We used the first initial and last name for e-mail, so . . .
\*Different times. And this was the city famous for “Banned in Boston.”
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### Author:  [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)
#### Post date: [January 5, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-abbreviations/523743/8 "2010-01-05T15:15:17Z")
Worst email I’ve ever had was a NON-abreviation. Let’s say that my full legal name is
María de los Dolores Sánchez de Brihuega Arrieta
but I normally get called
Loli Sánchez
it isn’t, but it has that structure: yeah, I do not use emails in the form of “myfirstname.mylastname” and so far everybody has agreed that with such a name it’s perfectly justified not to do so. In most companies, I’ve gotten emails along the lines of [mds031@company.com](mailto:mds031@company.com) or [msanchez@company.com](mailto:msanchez@company.com)
There was one which made it
[maria.de.los.dolores.sanchez.de.brihuega.arrieta@company.com](mailto:maria.de.los.dolores.sanchez.de.brihuega.arrieta@company.com)
When I needed to get someone to send me an email, I gave them my gmail account: it was much easier to spell.
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### Author:  [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)
#### Post date: [January 5, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-abbreviations/523743/9 "2010-01-05T15:47:49Z")
There’s a widespread entry-level computing qualification called CLAIT - computer literacy and information technology. When I first took it (the first or second year it was introduced) the ‘A’ was not part of the abbreviation.
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### Author:  [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)
#### Post date: [January 5, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-abbreviations/523743/10 "2010-01-05T15:48:16Z")
Canada had a Conservative-Reform Alliance Party once.
Very briefly.
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### Author:  [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)
#### Post date: [January 5, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-abbreviations/523743/11 "2010-01-05T15:52:30Z")
I remember the CRAP. They realized the abbreviation just a _little_ too late for it to escape media notice. But at least they changed it.
Of course, no list of poorly thought out abbreviations would be complete without a trip to Seattle and a ride on the South Lake Union Transit streetcar line.
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### Author:  [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)
#### Post date: [January 5, 2010, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-abbreviations/523743/12 "2010-01-05T15:58:15Z")
Virginia’s standardized tests that they administer to elementary school students are the Standards of Learning. Mess those up, and you’re SOL.
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### Author:  [@El\_Nene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Nene)
#### Post date: [January 5, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-abbreviations/523743/13 "2010-01-05T16:00:14Z")
A few months ago, I briefly worked on the SCAT project at the company where I am currently employed. I can’t remember what the acronym stood for but it was all I could do to stifle my giggle bone at every meeting.
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### Author:  [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)
#### Post date: [January 5, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-abbreviations/523743/14 "2010-01-05T16:05:03Z")
I’ve always wondered about the [Christian United National Tour](http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn210/hrhomer/christian_united_national_tour-1.jpg).
And the [South Lake Union Trolley](http://www.seattlepi.com/local/332081_slut18.html).
Joe
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### Author:  [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)
#### Post date: [January 5, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-abbreviations/523743/15 "2010-01-05T16:12:49Z")
I mostly work overseas in non-English speaking countries. Many of locals would have business cards printed in English for the international community. My favorite was a gentleman in Kosovo who was an assistant manager of a company. Yep, his cards had his name with “Ass Man” underneath. I still have that card somewhere…
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### Author:  [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)
#### Post date: [January 5, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-abbreviations/523743/16 "2010-01-05T16:24:29Z")
> [@Philster](#):
>
> Related: We have an employee by the name of Gina Va. So, every time her email pops up in an inbox, it shows as “Va, Gina”.
>
> I actually don’t think they can do anything simple to work around that, but it certainly is unfortunate.
The email address convention at my old company started out as your first initial and the first 5 letters of your last name. I worked with someone whose last name was Peniston.
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### Author:  [@BobArrgh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobArrgh)
#### Post date: [January 5, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-abbreviations/523743/17 "2010-01-05T16:34:35Z")
This may be an apochryphal story, but here goes. There is a Friends University in Kansas, whose name at one time may have been Friends University of Central Kansas. I believe they no longer tout their geographical location.
Also, when I worked at one huge computer company, the programmer’s reference books were called the “Systems Program Interface Reference Manual”, or SPIRM.
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### Author:  [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)
#### Post date: [January 5, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-abbreviations/523743/18 "2010-01-05T16:49:12Z")
I used to work for a company called Breakaway Solutions. And the logo looked an awful lot like a sperm.
They were so proud when they unveiled the new name and logo. There not pleased when the Giggle Committee (mostly me and one other person) judged it as a giant fail.
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### Author:  [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)
#### Post date: [January 5, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-abbreviations/523743/19 "2010-01-05T16:51:29Z")
> [@BobArrgh](#):
>
> Also, when I worked at one huge computer company, the programmer’s reference books were called the “Systems Program Interface Reference Manual”, or SPIRM.
I can’t find my SPIRM. Can I have your SPIRM? Come on, dude, give me your SPIRM! I need your SPIRM right now!
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### Author:  [@Drygon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drygon)
#### Post date: [January 5, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-abbreviations/523743/20 "2010-01-05T16:59:56Z")
In high school I took a class called Analytical Math and Trigonometry. This, of course, could not fit on our report cards. So they used the abbreviation ANAL MATH.
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