# What does ETA stand for? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 4, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-eta-stand-for/636719 "2012-10-04T17:24:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-eta-stand-for/636719/1 "2012-10-04T17:24:17Z")
Pretty self explanatory. When people edit their posts, they often say ETA. What does it stand for? I think E is Edit but damned if I can figure out the rest. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-eta-stand-for/636719/2 "2012-10-04T17:24:55Z")
Edited to add. ETA: Or estimated time of arrival, if you’re at the airport. ---
**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:** [October 4, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-eta-stand-for/636719/3 "2012-10-04T17:27:14Z")
Or “Euskadi Ta Askatasuna” if you’re in Pamplona. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-eta-stand-for/636719/4 "2012-10-04T17:27:15Z")
Thanks. If I might humbly suggest, a glossary of commonly used abbreviations in this forum as a sticky would be most triumphant. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-eta-stand-for/636719/5 "2012-10-04T17:30:49Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > ETA: Or estimated time of arrival, if you’re at the airport. there was an airline ETA. so you could have ETA ETA ---
**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:** [October 4, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-eta-stand-for/636719/6 "2012-10-04T17:32:38Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > Edited to add. To be honest, I don’t understand why people bother. Who cares? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-eta-stand-for/636719/7 "2012-10-04T17:41:31Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Thanks. If I might humbly suggest, a glossary of commonly used abbreviations in this forum as a sticky would be most triumphant. It’s [linked](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=320298) in the “FAQs - Please read first” sticky. > [@Acsenray](#): > > To be honest, I don’t understand why people bother. Who cares? It’s useful in fast-moving discussions where someone may respond to a post and then find that what they were responding to has been amended. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-eta-stand-for/636719/8 "2012-10-04T17:51:07Z")
Good heavens, I never saw that. Thanks, SV! ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-eta-stand-for/636719/9 "2012-10-04T17:54:07Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > To be honest, I don’t understand why people bother. Who cares? Some of us are trying to be considerate of the future historians who will end up going back and analyzing every single word we’ve ever written in order to figure out precisely when we went crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-eta-stand-for/636719/10 "2012-10-04T17:55:08Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Good heavens, I never saw that. Thanks, SV! “Good heavens”? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-eta-stand-for/636719/11 "2012-10-04T18:19:30Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > Some of us are trying to be considerate of the future historians who will end up going back and analyzing every single word we’ve ever written in order to figure out precisely when we went crazy. Went? ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-eta-stand-for/636719/12 "2012-10-04T19:15:42Z")
For some reason I get a case of dyslexia and always read it as: After the edit. Close enough though. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-eta-stand-for/636719/13 "2012-10-04T19:19:46Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > To be honest, I don’t understand why people bother. Who cares? _Redacted._ ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-eta-stand-for/636719/14 "2012-10-04T19:58:55Z")
I choose to interpret it as **Every Tongan Agrees**. ---
**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:** [October 4, 2012, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-eta-stand-for/636719/15 "2012-10-04T20:05:16Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > \*Redacted. > \*Last edited by Vinyl Turnip; Today at 12:20 PM. Reason: Who cares? Ascenray doesn’t care! But others care. I care. And deep down inside…you know that _you_ care. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-eta-stand-for/636719/16 "2012-10-04T21:58:57Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > “Good heavens”? :dubious: **BobLibDem** is clearly an upper middle class middle aged woman, from the Home Counties. ---
**Author:** ![Vita\_Beata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@Vita\_Beata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vita_Beata)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-eta-stand-for/636719/17 "2012-10-04T22:19:12Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Thanks. If I might humbly suggest, a glossary of commonly used abbreviations in this forum as a sticky would be most triumphant. One can simply put “ETA” or any abbreviation into Google to find the meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-eta-stand-for/636719/18 "2012-10-04T22:34:33Z")
It’s the internet equivalent of “PS.” It’s an afterthought you didn’t think of soon enough to put in the main part of the post, and you don’t want to bother editing to the extent of adding it to the main post. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-eta-stand-for/636719/19 "2012-10-04T23:10:44Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > It’s the internet equivalent of “PS.” It’s an afterthought you didn’t think of soon enough to put in the main part of the post, and you don’t want to bother editing to the extent of adding it to the main post. Or if you think you’ll miss the 5 minute window by carefully editing the post to say what you wish it said. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-eta-stand-for/636719/20 "2012-10-05T00:43:03Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Or if you think you’ll miss the 5 minute window by carefully editing the post to say what you wish it said. What I said in my [fictional, nonexistent] original post, where I said your response was idiotic, was the truth. ETA: I didn’t mean to imply _you_ were an idiot. Just that your _post_ said an idiotic thing that if you reflect on, will reveal the idiocy of your post (see, I’m attacking the post, not the poster. Don’t taze me, mods.) I hold you in the _highest_ esteem. _Real_ ETA: Yeah, like this is sometimes how it’s used. So what? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-eta-stand-for/636719.md?page=2)