# What does YMMV stand for?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ymmv-stand-for/101409>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [April 2, 2002, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ymmv-stand-for/101409 "2002-04-02T16:30:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![shimmery](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@shimmery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shimmery)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ymmv-stand-for/101409/1 "2002-04-02T16:30:31Z")

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In all my (almost) two years on the board, I have never been able to figure out what YMMV stands for. I figured out all those other pesky abbreviations - even the suspicious-looking IANAL, but YMMV continues to elude me. Please, someone help, I am desperate!☹

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**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ymmv-stand-for/101409/2 "2002-04-02T16:33:54Z")

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Your Mileage May Vary: my experience has led me to this conclusion, yours may lead you to a different one.

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**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ymmv-stand-for/101409/3 "2002-04-02T16:38:21Z")

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AFAIK, IIRC, YMMV = Your mileage may vary" - i.e. you may have a different opinion on the matter.

I had to ask a doper in the flesh to find out.

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**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ymmv-stand-for/101409/4 "2002-04-02T16:42:34Z")

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[Netlingo: Acronyms and shorthand](http://www.netlingo.com/emailsh.cfm)

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**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ymmv-stand-for/101409/5 "2002-04-02T17:05:48Z")

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I just have to add that the first time I encountered the acronym was on this board, in a thread engendering some very heated discussion – and my initial impression was that it stood for “You Make Me Vomit” 🙂

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**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ymmv-stand-for/101409/6 "2002-04-02T17:06:12Z")

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P.S. I also included this information in the “technical issues FAQ” sticky thread you can see in this forum.

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**Author:** ![shimmery](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@shimmery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shimmery)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ymmv-stand-for/101409/7 "2002-04-02T17:30:26Z")

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Ah, that explains it. Thanks.  
(I figured it was something along those lines … but I could never get what the first M was for … mileage, eh?)

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**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\
**Post date:** [April 3, 2002, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ymmv-stand-for/101409/8 "2002-04-03T03:30:28Z")

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Yeah, “mileage”, because YKMV just doesn’t have the same ring to it… 🙂