# Strained acronyms
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strained-acronyms/588883
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [July 13, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strained-acronyms/588883 "2011-07-13T16:17:14Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@JWT\_Kottekoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JWT_Kottekoe)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2011, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strained-acronyms/588883/41 "2011-07-16T06:02:45Z")
It’s not an acronym, but I always found this official abbreviation to be a mouthful:
I.B. of T.C.W. & H. of A.
Here’s a hint, Jimmy Hoffa was a member.
Give up?
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffers, Warehousemen, and Helpers of America.
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### Author:  [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2011, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strained-acronyms/588883/42 "2011-07-16T07:45:23Z")
There’s an episode of _Doctor Who_ where a bunch of nobodies assemble the London Investigation ‘N’ Detective Agency. There was no reason to strain; it could have just as easily been the London INvestigation and Detective Agency. Of course, the main guy was not particularly bright.
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### Author:  [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2011, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strained-acronyms/588883/43 "2011-07-16T07:47:32Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#):
>
> Many years ago, I founded CACA: The Committee to Abolish Contrived Acronyms.
>
> Membership is free! Join us, won’t you?
Heee, a coworker and I formed PAPA.
People Against Purposeless Acronyms.
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2011, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strained-acronyms/588883/44 "2011-07-16T13:31:09Z")
> [@Philster](#):
>
> EVIL (Every Villain Is Lemons) was a short-lived gang of evildoers, consisting of ManRay, The Dirty Bubble, and Barnacle Man in the Sponge Bob series.
As I’ve noted before, this is the PERFECT name for the organization of Bad Guys in **Cars 2**.
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### Author:  [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strained-acronyms/588883/45 "2011-07-16T17:42:35Z")
I’ve always wanted to found Parents United for Kids Education.
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### Author:  [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2011, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strained-acronyms/588883/46 "2011-07-18T14:16:47Z")
From **Red Dwarf** : “I propose we call ourselves the Committee for the Liberation and Integration of Terrifying Organisms and their Rehabilitation Into Society. One drawback, the abbreviation is CLITORIS.”
And from **Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs** , there’s the Flint Lockwood Diatonic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator, or [FLDSMDFR](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8xFbWLUDoQ).
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### Author:  [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2011, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strained-acronyms/588883/47 "2011-07-18T14:19:38Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#):
>
> And from **Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs** , there’s the Flint Lockwood Diatonic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator, or [FLDSMDFR](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8xFbWLUDoQ).
You win the thread. 😉
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### Author:  [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strained-acronyms/588883/48 "2011-07-18T20:11:58Z")
[The TTP Project](http://search.dilbert.com/comic/Ttp)
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### Author:  [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strained-acronyms/588883/49 "2011-07-18T22:13:47Z")
> [@cochrane](#):
>
> Here’s one from PETA. When Petco Park in San Diego was being constructed for the Padres, fans were given the chance to purchase bricks outside of the stadium concourse and to have dedications engraved into them. PETA purchased a brick and had it inscribed, “Break Open Your Cold Ones. Toast The Padres. Enjoy This Champion Organization.” The initial letters of the words spell out “BOYCOTT PETCO.”
I like [this one, that Arnold claims was unintentional](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/27/schwarzenegger-sends-lawm_n_336319.html). Riiiiight.
There’s a whole mess of [recursive acronyms](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recursive_acronym). It was cute at first, now a bit contrived.
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### Author:  [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2011, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strained-acronyms/588883/50 "2011-07-18T22:42:49Z")
> [@Knorf](#):
>
> **M** others **O** pposed to the **O** ccult
>
> I swear the writers must have gotten it from somewhere, and not just made it up.
Funny, if they just added in the little words it’d be MOTTO, which isn’t a bad name at all.
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### Author:  [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)
#### Post date: [July 19, 2011, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strained-acronyms/588883/51 "2011-07-19T00:10:37Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#):
>
> And Linux is asserted to stand for “Linux is not Unix” - although this seems somewhat dubious.
Extra dubious given the first name of Mr. Torvalds, who wrote the initial kernel.
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