I’ve seen commercials for remote-control toys (cars, planes, etc.) where the announcer says “blah blah blah RC cars blah blah blah” instead of “remote control cars.” I can understand the need to cut off a couple of syllables in order to squeeze more information into a commercial. But…
On tonight’s episode of Mythbusters they kept saying “RC” instead of “remote control.”
Is there some reason for this? Does someone hold the copyright to the words “remote control”?
If you’re going to be saying something over and over again, it’s just easier to use initials, if you can. If you had to talk with someone about your internet service provider, would you say internet service provider EVERY time you had to mention them, or would you say ISP?
There were some experts talking about this phenomenon on the radio yesterday. I was listening to 93.3 Frequency Modulation, and they were guessed speakers. I used my cellular phone to call in and ask a question.
I appreciate the snarkiness, but I distinctly remember playing with my remote control toys back in the 70’s. We never said “RC.”
Did I grow up in some weird lingustic anamoly?
Do you refer to Universal Resource Locators for sites on the that are written in Hypertext Markup Language? Or perhaps for File Transfer Protocol sites?
Do you go to Automatic Teller Machines and enter your Personal Identification Number?
RC Cars are RC Cars, just like those are URLs, HTML, FTP, ATMs and PINs.
Yes. Or at least too early. RC cars have been RC cars since the early 80s, at least.
Planes aren’t RC, that I’ve ever heard, though.
That’s back when people weren’t lazy.
And everything was orange and brown and made out of metal 
I suppose it is irrelevant to your question, but when it comes to model cars, “RC” more commonly means Radio Controlled.
There’s a show on the DIY Network called “Radio Controlled Hobbies”.
Also I think it might have to do with RC being new technology for toys. When they first came out, one had to say “remote control” because no one would know what RC was. Eventually, as it got popular, “RC” became the popular term. I was a toy user in the 80s and they were always Tyco RC.
Like “Cellular” phones. Back when they were HUGE, they were cellular phones. Now they’re just cell phones. It’s quicker. I think it’s a natural progression of the language. I’m betting a fax machine was originally a facsimile machine for the first several years.
In the examples cited, “RC” doesn’t stand for “remote control.” It stands for “radio controlled.” In devices that use a traditional (infrafred) remote control, the terms “remote control” or “remote” are used.
Sheesh. Get interrupted for 5 minutes while composing your post, and 20 people answer in the meantime. 
Also, with radio controlled cars, planes, etc., the “RC” is referring to the main device itself (i.e., the car or plane) and its operating system, which is an integral and critical part of using the device. TV’s and radios, on the other hand, don’t absolutely require their remote controls to operate. That’s why you don’t see them always (or ever) referred to as “remote controlled TV’s.” When we talk about the “remote control” or the “remote,” we’re referring to the hand-held controller itself, not a defining aspect of the main device it operates.
“Guessed” speakers? Were you dictating this post???
It seems unlikely that “RC” would be used in Britain as it sounds too close to “arsy” [from “arse”], which means irritable or bad-tempered (or, bizarrely, lucky in Australia).
In the US, the major hobbyist magazine for radio controlled airplanes is called “R/C Modeler.” See http://www.rcmmagazine.com
The magazine used the same name back in the 1970s, so the term pronounced “are see” has been in common use since at least then.
When did the spelling of “R/C” become “RC”? I have no clue. Heck, since the OP and many posters were citing voiceovers on radio & TV, maybe it’s still “R/C”.
Don’t take this analogy too far or you’ll have to explain why people say “double-U double-U double-U” instead of “world wide web”.
When I was a kid in the '70s I played with R/C airplanes. Nobody said “remote control”.
Heh, I’m so un-hip that whenever I hear about RC cars or whatever, I think it’s something the soda company uses.
I thought a RC car was The Pope Mobile.
Peace.
Bah - I was about to make a very obscure joke along the lines of “No need to get all Radio-Controlled about it”…
