Questions tagged [acronyms]
Acronyms are words which were created by taking the first letter (or several letters) of each word of a phrase.
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how do I use a hyphen when defining an acronym in the middle of the term? [duplicate]
Example:
"Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) level unemployment"
I need a hyphen between "Area" and "level". Later in the document the term appears as "MSA-level".
Should it be:
"Metropolitan ...
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Is it possible to say "ASAP" instead of "as soon as possible" when we speak? [closed]
Or is it just an abbreviation that should be written just on paper? I heard Al Pacino say "asap" on the phone when he was talking with his friend.
What about pm? Could we say p m instead of prime ...
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Is "off" also an acronym?
I found the term off used in the following way (technical document):
... a total of two (2 off) Single radio channels ...
While the meaning seems pretty clear, I'd like to know what off stands ...
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Is 'acronymise/ze' a word? Is it used only colloquially, if at all?
I just sent a text to a friend, who didn't understand an acronym I used for a game:
"Ah, I said it in a previous text so thought it was ok to abbreviate
it."
Though, since it was an acronym I ...
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How do we pronounce the acronym CMYK?
How does one pronounce the acronym CMYK, in the color model sense.
If there is more than one pronunciation, how popular is each of them?
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What is the correct abbreviation for the plural "Quantitative Trait Loci" — "QTL" or "QTLs"?
Strictly speaking, both the biological term Quantitative Trait Locus and its plural Quantitative Trait Loci can be abbreviated as QTL. However, one often reads the abbreviations QTL and QTLs. Is the -...
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What is the correct way to form a demonym from an acronym?
For instance, what is the equivalent of New Yorker when using the acronym (NY or N.Y. instead of New York)?
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Placement of acronym vs words spelled out [duplicate]
I am confused whether to place the acronym before or after the words are spelled out. For example, the first time this organisation is mentioned, which of these alternatives is more correct:
The ...
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"An SATA device"? Weird article choice in suggested edit
This question references a suggested edit I rejected on Super User. The edit suggested that the a in
There's no way you're plugging any of those directly into a SATA interface.
be changed to an. ...
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What is the correct way to define an acronym when its first appearance is plural? [closed]
The question and answers posed in What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym? deals very nicely with acronym (and possibly initialism) usage. What about the case when you are defining the acronym?...
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Is there an equivalent for French "CQFD"
In French, when concluding a demonstration, we say "CQFD", which stands for "Ce Qu'il Fallait Démontrer" (What was to be demonstrated).
Does English have an equivalent for this ?
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Is the second period necessary after an abbreviation?
Which one of the following is correct?
only in the continental U.S.A. For all other countries...
only in the continental U.S.A.. For all other countries...
I am not sure if I need two periods after "...
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what is the plural of "GPS" [duplicate]
Do I have several GPSs, or several GPSes, or something completely different? What is the rule to remember (will be useful later when I can have a GPS2, a GPST and maybe a GPSX too).
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How to add clarity to an acronym that is already a word
Where I'm working we have an acronym spelled "was" and I'm wondering is there a way to clearly distinguish it from the verb? According to here "acronyms...usually do not require periods" so is this a ...
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Is there a Latin, or English, phrase or acronym for "in summary"?
Is there something similar to TLDR that can be used in professional emails and messages?
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Can the acronym "R.N.A." be used at the end of an e-mail? [closed]
There was the following statement in New York Time’s (June 1) article titled, “Sabbath Gasbags, Speak up.” - http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/opinion/sunday/sabbath-gasbags-speak-up.html?hp
“My ...
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Double acronym/initialism: acronyms and initialisms 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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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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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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Proper Timezone Acronym Usage - PT vs PDT or PST
What is the difference between PT (Pacific Time), PDT (Pacific Daylight Time), and PST (Pacific Standard Time)? Also, is the time format "2:00pm PT" unambiguous?
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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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Does pronouncing an initialism make it an acronym?
One definition of 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; ...
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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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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 ...
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How to pronounce acronyms and initialisms 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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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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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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Researching the real origin of SNAFU
I know the wiki origin puts SNAFU as appearing during WWII as the first in a long line of military slang, BUT, years ago I recollect reading in an electronics magazine, likely 'Wireless World' from 60'...
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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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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 "...
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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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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
T.A.R.D....
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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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Proper capitalization of commonly used acronyms and initialisms
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 "...
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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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Correct capitalization for "of" in an acronym definition
For an acronym that includes the word "of", do you capitalize its usage within the definition (or expansion) of the acronym
For example, in the follow sentence:
My coworker Steve suffers from ...
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What is the acronym for a minor in a subject at a university?
I'm filling out a resume and need to list my education. For my bachelor's degree, it's just "B.S. Whatever", no problem.
I also have a minor. What is the acronym that I should use for this?
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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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Pluralizing acronyms: how to? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym?
Let's say we're talking about PLCs (programmable logic controllers)? Or are they "PLC's"? I've seen it both ways!
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Proper Apostrophe Usage with Initialisms: CCS' or CCS's?
I work with a company whose name is frequently reduced to an initialism (acronym). Let's say the name is "Cool Computer Systems" (CCS). I am engaged in an ongoing, bloody battle with the ...
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Why is the plural acronym "CSS" treated as singular?
CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets, which is a plural phrase. One would say:
Cascading Style Sheets are used to provide a central location for all of the stylings of a project.
However, it ...
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How to pluralise an acronym? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym?
How would you make the plural form of an acronym? For example, if you have two of Nintendo's game console, the DS.
Would you ...