# PWUA (People Who Use Acronyms) and terms they assume people will know (spoiler: they don't) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 21, 2019, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pwua-people-who-use-acronyms-and-terms-they-assume-people-will-know-spoiler-they-dont/839030 "2019-08-21T23:32:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pwua-people-who-use-acronyms-and-terms-they-assume-people-will-know-spoiler-they-dont/839030/61 "2019-08-23T10:04:39Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > PA TURNPIKE, since it’s all capital letters, could easily be seen as just “pa.” What I don’t get is why they don’t use either PENN. or even PENNS. Why throw in the last letter? I’m gonna say it cause it needs to be said 🙂 Because people change that to PENNis TURNPIKE and PENiS TURNPIKE. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pwua-people-who-use-acronyms-and-terms-they-assume-people-will-know-spoiler-they-dont/839030/62 "2019-08-23T12:16:47Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Why throw in the last letter? I think it is just an old form abbreviation - I remember “Penna Dept of Agriculture” approvals on various food containers from my MN (Minnesota) childhood. So apparently it was the official Pennsylvania abbreviation at some point, and they still use it on their internal highway signs. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pwua-people-who-use-acronyms-and-terms-they-assume-people-will-know-spoiler-they-dont/839030/63 "2019-08-23T13:26:26Z")
For some reason acronyms call to the gutter portion of my mind. I interact with people who occasionally refer to a type of therapy as CBT. their mind: cognitive behavioral therapy my filthy mind: cock and ball torture I also do some work for a governmental agency. Whoo gal, do governmental agencies ever love to throw around some acronym soup! They had to issue me a laptop (can’t let me connect with my own, who knows what kinds of electronic cooties might bne on there). I get emails referring to it as my GFE – their mind: government furnished equipment my filthy one: girl friend experience … and to get on the VPN, there’s a hardware dongle, a card reader, and I have to insert my magnetic-stripe card into the reader. It’s referred to as my PIV card – their mind: personal identity verification my filthy one: penis in vagina Not only am I not a fifth grader, I wasn’t that kind of fifth grader to begin with. Maybe I’m finally becoming a fifth grader or something. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pwua-people-who-use-acronyms-and-terms-they-assume-people-will-know-spoiler-they-dont/839030/64 "2019-08-23T13:33:47Z")
dupe / nm ---
**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:** [August 23, 2019, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pwua-people-who-use-acronyms-and-terms-they-assume-people-will-know-spoiler-they-dont/839030/65 "2019-08-23T13:50:59Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > I think it is just an old form abbreviation - I remember “Penna Dept of Agriculture” approvals on various food containers from my MN (Minnesota) childhood. So apparently it was the official Pennsylvania abbreviation at some point, and they still use it on their internal highway signs. Yes, this. Before the USPS came up with official two letter state abbreviations in 1963, Pennsylvania used Penna. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pwua-people-who-use-acronyms-and-terms-they-assume-people-will-know-spoiler-they-dont/839030/66 "2019-08-23T17:19:33Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > For some reason acronyms call to the gutter portion of my mind. I interact with people who occasionally refer to a type of therapy as CBT. > > their mind: cognitive behavioral therapy > my filthy mind: cock and ball torture It’s not like cock and ball torture couldn’t change a person’s behavior. Or at least how they walk. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pwua-people-who-use-acronyms-and-terms-they-assume-people-will-know-spoiler-they-dont/839030/67 "2019-08-23T18:15:05Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I feel bad for the people living in the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.☹ And, dammit, we’re a COMMONWEALTH not a state. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2019, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pwua-people-who-use-acronyms-and-terms-they-assume-people-will-know-spoiler-they-dont/839030/68 "2019-08-24T21:01:30Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > And, dammit, we’re a COMMONWEALTH not a state. :mad: I beg to differ. > [@Wikipedia](#): > > [Commonwealth is a term used by **four** of the 50 states of the United States in their full official state names. “Commonwealth” is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The states, **Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia** , are in the Eastern United States and prior to the formation of the United States in 1776, were British colonial possessions. As such, they share a strong influence of English common law in some of their laws and institutions.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_(U.S._state)) > [@Wikipedia](#): > > [Rhode Island (/ˌroʊd -/ (About this soundlisten), like road),[6][7] officially the **State** of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,[8] is a state in the New England region of the United States.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhode_Island) Emphasis mine. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2019, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pwua-people-who-use-acronyms-and-terms-they-assume-people-will-know-spoiler-they-dont/839030/69 "2019-08-24T22:24:20Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > I beg to differ. > Emphasis mine. And to be clear, they have “commonwealth” in their names, but as legal entities, they are correctly described as states. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2019, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pwua-people-who-use-acronyms-and-terms-they-assume-people-will-know-spoiler-they-dont/839030/70 "2019-08-24T23:02:03Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > And to be clear, they have “commonwealth” in their names, but as legal entities, they are correctly described as states. Not only that, but the constitution requires them to have a “republican form of government” (Constitution for the United States of America, Article IV, Section 4). ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pwua-people-who-use-acronyms-and-terms-they-assume-people-will-know-spoiler-they-dont/839030/71 "2019-08-25T01:02:12Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I can’t get behind this. I’m not going to type Pennsylvania when PA is correct, or California in place of CA, especially when the state follows a city. QFT ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pwua-people-who-use-acronyms-and-terms-they-assume-people-will-know-spoiler-they-dont/839030/72 "2019-08-25T01:28:23Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > And to be clear, they have “commonwealth” in their names, but as legal entities, they are correctly described as states. Sorry, I wasn’t as clear as I should have been. I was nitpicking over the idea we had a STATE abbreviation when we’re a Commonwealth. (I’m a Masshole, not a Rhody.) ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pwua-people-who-use-acronyms-and-terms-they-assume-people-will-know-spoiler-they-dont/839030/73 "2019-08-25T03:14:24Z")
> [@Isosleepy](#): > > QFT QFF. BTT, JFYI, PA & CA etc. = EM? EOD. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pwua-people-who-use-acronyms-and-terms-they-assume-people-will-know-spoiler-they-dont/839030/74 "2019-08-25T03:23:59Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Sorry, I wasn’t as clear as I should have been. I was nitpicking over the idea we had a STATE abbreviation when we’re a Commonwealth. (I’m a Masshole, not a Rhody.) You are a state. You have “commonwealth” in your name but it’s an affectation. For **all** purposes it is a state. You may as well object to Texas being called a state, and insist that it is a republic. And Vermont was the Vermont Republic prior to statehood as well. (Did you know that? I didn’t. I love learning about history. :)) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pwua-people-who-use-acronyms-and-terms-they-assume-people-will-know-spoiler-they-dont/839030/75 "2019-08-25T03:39:18Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > That’s what happened to BECU. Used to be the Boeing Employees Credit Union. It’s not restricted to Boeing employees anymore, so the name is just BECU now. Similarly, OBEE Credit Union used to stand for “Olympia Brewery Employees”, but the brewery’s been closed since 2003, and the membership is now open to anyone in the state. ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pwua-people-who-use-acronyms-and-terms-they-assume-people-will-know-spoiler-they-dont/839030/76 "2019-08-25T06:24:04Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > I used to deal with IT vendors on a regular basis. Every one of them would use acronyms when we were meeting with them. It finally got to the point where I had to open a meeting with a proclamation that nobody would use acronyms during the upcoming meeting. They learned rather quickly that they needed to follow that rule. A few years ago, I was in a group of neighbors when one asked what projects I was working on. (I was self-employed as a consultant.) I said I was doing a big project for the IT department of a major university. None of the 3 knew what IT stood for. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pwua-people-who-use-acronyms-and-terms-they-assume-people-will-know-spoiler-they-dont/839030/77 "2019-08-25T07:13:50Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > You are a state. You have “commonwealth” in your name but it’s an affectation. For **all** purposes it is a state. You may as well object to Texas being called a state, and insist that it is a republic. > > And Vermont was the Vermont Republic prior to statehood as well. (Did you know that? I didn’t. I love learning about history. :)) Texas is a republic and so are the other 49 states. See the section of the constitution I cited above. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pwua-people-who-use-acronyms-and-terms-they-assume-people-will-know-spoiler-they-dont/839030/78 "2019-08-25T08:01:14Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Similarly, OBEE Credit Union used to stand for “Olympia Brewery Employees”, but the brewery’s been closed since 2003, and the membership is now open to anyone in the state. And then there was the Ontario College of Art (OCA) in Toronto, whose abbreviation was pronounced as separate letters: “oh see eh”. Some time ago they added “and Design” to the name, and the abbreviation became OCAD, pronounced as one word, “oh-cad”. Then OCAD got upgraded to a full university in status, and the name became OCAD University (OCAD U). Apparently the letters OCAD no longer stand for anything. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pwua-people-who-use-acronyms-and-terms-they-assume-people-will-know-spoiler-they-dont/839030/79 "2019-08-25T16:53:31Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Texas is a republic and so are the other 49 states. See the section of the constitution I cited above. In the sense that it functions as a representative democracy, not in the sense that it’s a fully sovereign republic as Texas was for 10 years. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pwua-people-who-use-acronyms-and-terms-they-assume-people-will-know-spoiler-they-dont/839030/80 "2019-08-25T17:22:50Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Texas is a republic and so are the other 49 states. See the section of the constitution I cited above. > [@Atamasama](#): > > In the sense that it functions as a representative democracy, not in the sense that it’s a fully sovereign republic as Texas was for 10 years. Or just that it doesn’t have a monarchical form of government. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pwua-people-who-use-acronyms-and-terms-they-assume-people-will-know-spoiler-they-dont/839030.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pwua-people-who-use-acronyms-and-terms-they-assume-people-will-know-spoiler-they-dont/839030.md?page=5)