Acronyms are words which were created by taking the first letter (or several letters) of each word of a phrase.
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1answer
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Proper to add tense to acronyms, abbreviations and initialisms
What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym? asked about pluralising acronyms, abbreviations and initialisms, but is there a standard way to add verb endings e.g. -ing and -ed (what are these ...
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6answers
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Do you use “a” or “an” before acronyms?
99% of the time, I'm clear on when I should use "a" versus "an." There's one case, though, where people & references I respect disagree.
Which of the following would you precede with "a" or "an," ...
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4answers
574 views
Why did they spell it “URL’s”?
I was reading this documentation file of some software and note the plural spelling of this abbreviation is “URL’s”. Why isn’t it “URLs”?
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3answers
71 views
Do you put an 's' at the end of acronym? [duplicate]
For example, is it FAQs or just FAQ?
I guess it's either:
Frequently Asked Questions
or
"Frequently Asked Question"s
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2answers
102 views
Should you use en dashes in acronyms?
For terms like liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry that typically use an en dash rather than a hyphen, would an en dash still be used in the acronym, LC–MS? Or would we only need a hyphen there, ...
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1answer
90 views
Is an “acronoun” a real concept?
In discussing pronunciation of difference kinds of acronyms and initialisms, I recalled the term "acronoun." However, I can't find any reference to this term on the Wikipedia Acronym page, nor in ...
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1answer
64 views
Pluralizing a plural acronym [duplicate]
We use the acronym "CERT" to represent "Critical Error Reduction Techniques" quite frequently, but when we use CERT in a sentence should it be CERT or CERTs? For example, "Using CERT to Prevent ...
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1answer
134 views
How should one punctuate the phrase “simply to understand devote yourself”?
I found an acronym for the word STUDY online. However, the punctuation looks amiss.
It reads
Simply — to understand, devote yourself!
But I think the dash makes no sense here. Am I right?
...
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1answer
526 views
“TV”: is it formal or informal?
I would definitely say that the term TV is informal (while television is formal), however I have found "TV" in some formal compositions.
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3answers
156 views
Can an acronym be pronounced as a construction of letters and words?
I've found this question Pronouncing acronyms in which people discuss how to pronounce acronyms, and they can be pronounced either as single letters or as a single word.
However I would like to know ...
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3answers
192 views
“Low self-esteem” in one word [closed]
I need an acronym for "low self-esteem", one word is a must, and preferrably archaic.
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2answers
174 views
What is the correct definition and usage of the acronym “ETA”? [closed]
Does "ETA" stand for "Estimated Time to Arrival" or "Estimated Time of Arrival"? I most commonly hear phrases like "ETA 20 minutes", but I've also heard "ETA 4:30 PM". Is one usage correct and the ...
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5answers
3k views
Why use BCE/CE instead of BC/AD?
When I was a kid, I was always taught to refer to years using BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini / year of our Lord). However, I somewhat regularly hear people referring to years as in the CE ...
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vote
1answer
42 views
Using “the” with name of research center
The name of our research center is Southeastern Transportation Center, STC is the acronym, of course. In writing, I use STC, not 'the STC' but our director says 'the' is needed so that it reads well. ...
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4answers
1k views
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2answers
281 views
Double acronym: acronyms that stand for two things simultaneously
I am looking for a term that describes an acronym that has two possible expansions, but both expansions refer to the same thing. The term "double acronym" doesn't appear to be widely used and is ...
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7answers
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Plurals of acronyms, letters, numbers — use an apostrophe or not?
When I was in high school back in the 1970s, I was taught that to make a plural of an acronym, a letter, or a number, one should add an apostrophe and "s". Like I would have written this sentence, ...
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5answers
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What is the commonly accepted pronunciation of FAQ?
I hear FAQ(s) pronounced like a word in "FACK(s)", while I go letter by letter. In usage, what is more common?
(Similar to SQL vs Sequel)
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1answer
2k views
Using the definite article with acronyms and initialisms
I'm wondering when to use or not to use the definite article, when using acronyms or initialisms in a sentence. Is there a rule for this, or does it depend on the context?
For example, let's look at ...
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3answers
9k views
Difference between an acronym and abbreviation?
TLA is an acronym for "Three Letter Acronym". Is it also an abbreviation, since it abbreviates the original phrase?
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5answers
3k views
Hip Hip Hooray!
I am looking for the etymology and history of the cheer “Hip Hip Hooray”. I’m curious due to its interesting entry in Wikipedia, which reads thusly:
The call was recorded in England in the ...
79
votes
9answers
4k views
What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym?
For example, if I wanted to write the equivalent of
There are many automated teller machines in this city.
Would it be
There are many ATMs in this city.
or
There are many ATM's in ...
6
votes
5answers
311 views
LEDs and the correct pronunciation
The LED is quickly becoming a standard light source alternative to incandescent lights, when speaking to others, I have always pronounced any reference to LED as the acronym "L E D", but increasingly ...
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2answers
97 views
Pronunciation of OS X versions [closed]
I don't feel like this belongs on SU, so I put it here.
I know that "OS X" is pronounced "oh-ess ten," but how should the common construction "OS X 10.9" be pronounced?
The primary possibility I can ...
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0answers
270 views
Acronyms and Mnemonics to remember SAT Grammar [closed]
I'm taking the SAT very soon, and being a slow test-taker means I need some quick ways to identify grammar errors and possible amends. Here's the most common rules on the SAT:
Important SAT Grammar ...
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2answers
1k views
Proper Timezone Acronym Usage - PT vs PDT or PST
What is the difference with using PT (Pacific Time) vs PDT (Pacific Daylight Time) or PST (Pacific Standard Time)? When you write the time, 2:00pm PT, would that be considered incorrect because it is ...
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3answers
206 views
Why are all acronyms accented on the last syllable?
When saying acronyms out loud, almost always the last syllable is accented (no matter how long the acronym is): US*A*, U*N*, RSV*P*, etc.
Accenting any syllable but the last makes you sound silly ...
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1answer
761 views
Is an apostrophe with a decade (e.g. 1920’s) generally considered “incorrect”?
I typically don’t use an apostrophe with plurals in any situation, but I always assumed that the use of an apostrophe in constructions like acronyms:
Forty BA’s were given out to students this ...
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1answer
118 views
Does pronouncing an initialism make it an acronym?
An acronym is:
An abbreviation formed by (usually initial) letters taken from a word or series of words, that is itself pronounced as a word, such as RAM, radar, or scuba; sometimes contrasted ...
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1answer
324 views
Is it proper to capitalize after an acronym?
By intuition, I would say that after writing an acronym, one need not capitalize the first word after it. However, after seeing how writing-software capitalizes any word which follows the acronym, ...
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vote
7answers
458 views
Which acronyms do you use for epochs? Where do you place the acronym?
For example, I usually use
560 BCE
1066 CE
As opposed to the traditional:
560 BC
AD 1066
Some people, when using AD, place it after the year:
1066 AD
I'm interested in how other people ...
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vote
1answer
146 views
Defining an acronym when using the plural of the term? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym?
I am defining an acronym which will be substituted for some unwieldy term in a document.
One thing Gary has talked ...
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2answers
158 views
How to pronounce acronyms with apostrophes?
Simple question:
How do you pronounce acronyms when they're used with apostrophe to express possession? For example:
In the NIH's high-risk, high-reward programmes, “if an idea isn't developing ...
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3answers
197 views
Correct capitalisation of 'jargon' words used as acronyms
In a technical role at work we use many three letter acronyms to describe 'things' that we work with or processes that we follow. When writing these up, I'm unclear if capitals should be used or not. ...
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5answers
1k views
When did the use of acronyms begin? [closed]
What are some of the earliest acronyms and did they know it was an acronym at the time?
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3answers
601 views
Is the acronym PIGS (or PIIGS) offensive?
To my Spanish ears, the acronym PIGS (for Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain) or PIIGS (for Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain) sounds offensive. The Spanish equivalent “cerdo” is a strong word ...
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3answers
262 views
Does an initialism count as one word? How about a hyphenated word?
I was playing a game over the weekend where you're allowed to give a one-word clue. Someone said "RNA" and a disagreement followed as to whether or not it's a single word. At the time, we ...
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vote
1answer
144 views
Does the long form of an abbreviation go in quotes?
I am trying to use and introduce an abbreviation in a sentence. Example:
I worked with technologies such as Syntactically Awesome Stylesheets (Sass) while working on my project.
Does the ...
14
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4answers
4k views
What is the correct pronunciation of “AJAX”?
I have wondered for a while about how I should pronounce "AJAX" (asynchronous JavaScript and XML). I usually say "I-acs", as in the Amsterdam football club, but should I say "a-jacs" (as it looks in ...
10
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2answers
937 views
“PIN Number” — why do we say it?
We often say "PIN Number", this is part of everyday conversation. But why?
PIN stands for Personal Identification Number, so what we're actually saying is Personal Identification Number Number.
Is ...
2
votes
3answers
490 views
Plural form of the acronym LASER
I'm writing a technical report and must use the plural form of LASER. Seeing as it is an acronym, how does one add the 's'?
2
votes
1answer
663 views
Why is WFM used for “working from home”?
I've seen this used in several places, but WFH seems to make more sense to me. Is there some other significance that I'm missing besides the 'M' coming from the end of 'home'?
12
votes
1answer
490 views
Usage of YMMV: Can I use it in day-to-day conversation?
I found the word YMMV in an answer to my question "How important to write down mission statement in learning English? Do I have to?", which I posted on January 6.
As YMMV is a quite strange word to ...
8
votes
4answers
669 views
Proper capitalization of commonly used acronyms
I was always under impression, that acronyms ought to be written all caps. However reading BBC News site very often I see some of the common acronyms written as proper names (first cap). For example ...
3
votes
3answers
890 views
Pluralization of acronyms ending in 'S'
What is the proper way to pluralize acronyms ending in the letter 'S'?
The particular acronym under study in this case is T.A.R.D.I.S.
The various forms I believe are correct are:
TARDISes
...
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4answers
5k views
Opposite of acronym
If U.N. is the acronym of United Nations, then United Nations is the what of U.N.?
Is there an opposite of acronym?
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3answers
569 views
Supposed acronym expansions for common words
I have seen expansions of many English words such as POLICE, MUSIC, GOD, LASER, where each letter supposedly stands for another word, as in an acronym. Are these expansions in any way real, that is, ...
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3answers
470 views
Past participle of a verb created from an acronym
Standard GPL would require that those applications be GPL'd (or compatible licensing), whereas LGPL requires only the library's source to be made available.
Is the use of words like GPL'd common ...
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2answers
295 views
Can a word that sounds the same as the way it is spelt be an initialism and an acronym?
Initialisms are pronounced as words and acronyms are spelt letters. However, some words sound the same, said and spelt.
e.g. Input Output can be abbreviated as IO. It can be spelt I-O or pronounced ...
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votes
2answers
356 views
Is CAPTCHA a contrived acronym?
While I understand why USA PATRIOT is a contrived acronym, I don't understand if CAPTCHA should be considered a contrived acronym.
Is CAPTCHA a contrived acronym? Why?
