Internet Shorthand 6

[Dimandja]

Do you have any interesting examples of creative ways people use their keyboards to express themselves online?

Also, many popular expressions have been reduced to an alphabet soup that I find hard to digest. For instance "AFAIK" --- my stomach still turned even when I found out what it stands for. And, what in the world is "IMO"? :s

 

[ESquared]

In technical manuals and online one not infrequently sees the words foo and bar. They are most often used as variable namess or random placeholders.

Well, use of foo and bar—foobar—is a secret joke on the word fubar, which is actually an acronym: Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition. I think it started in the military. Be aware that not everyone knows this connection and you should not automatically assume that a person using foo and bar knows the real meaning behind them.

A similar word is snafu, which comes from Situation Normal: All Fouled Up.

I thought of combining them into snafubar, but evidently I was not the first!

E²


P.S. One should of course replace foul with something more profane in order to achieve genuinity.

 

[AnotherHiggins]

You know you're going to get flack for using "[blue]genuinity[/blue]," right?

 

[ESquared]

Going to!?!? I already did!!!

Thanks for the correction!

P.S. Flak is standard, flack is nonstandard... as in flak jacket.

 

[Dimandja]

Genuinity flak resistant site:

http://shay.ecn.purdue.edu/~kennell/genuinity/

 

[CajunCenturion]

Although anotherhiggins statement "You know you're going to get flack " is using non-standard variant of flak, it is appropriate to point out that:

anotherhiggins flacked ESquared for using the very rare word "genuinity."

Good Luck
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[ESquared]

I've never before heard fla[c]k used as a verb. The standard usage is, to give flak and to receive flak.

ESquared gave CajunCenturion flak for using flack as a verb.

I concede that genuineness is the standard word and I should have used it. Somehow, genuinity 'felt' better at the time.

 

[CajunCenturion]

I suggest then that you look up flack in the dictionary. You might find it interesting that the verb to flack has absolutely nothing to do with the noun flak.

Good Luck
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As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[CajunCenturion]

I suppose that given we're deep into election politics, maybe I should recant on the association between the verb flack and the noun flak.

Good Luck
--------------
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[ESquared]

I did check two online dictionaries before posting about the noun/verb usage of flack. But I finally see it as a verb in a third dictionary:

[ul]flack¹ Listen: [fl

k] Informal
n.

[ul]A press agent; a publicist.

[/ul]
v. flacked, flack·ing, flacks
v. intr.

[ul]To act as a press agent: flacking for a movie studio.

[/ul]
v. tr.

[ul]To act as a press agent for; promote: authors who tour the country flacking their books.[/ul]

[/ul]

 

[AnotherHiggins]

Technically I wasn't giving E² flak or flack, as I had found the site previously pointed to by Dimandja before I posted. I recognize that genuinity is a word, even if it is usually omitted in favor of genuineness, is not included in any (free) online dictionary that I can find, and is only being accepted as a word because it was listed in a 1989 O.E.D.

I cannot say if it is still listed as a word and am unprepared to spend US$30/month to find out (the subscription rate to O.E.D. online - or a bargain at $65/year!) But if any of you forgot to get me a birthday gift, I'd love a real O.E.D. of my own!

Anyway, thanks to E² for pointing out the proper spelling for flak in this case. That'll teach me to try to be a smarta*s.

John

 

[ESquared]

Ooh! Ooh! I've been meaning to get you a birthday gift, I just couldn't think what to get. Now I know!

I hope we're all having fun here and not feeling prickly about having every jot and tittle examined.

 

[Madhi]

ASAP - As Soon As Possible
IWGBY - I will Get Back You

Madhivanan

 

[AnotherHiggins]

Oh, if we are going to get back on topic...

Some of my favorite initialisms (thanks, madelca100) are:
[ul][li]TLA - Three Letter Acronym (Of which there are a ridiculous amount)[/li]
[li]ETLA - Extended Three Letter Acronym[/li]
[li]VLTLA - Very Long Three Letter Acronym[/li][/ul]

 

[ESquared]

The distinction between acronyms and initialisms is just about dead. The English language has changed and now acronym can properly refer to either.

For example, take a look at merriam webster's definition of acronym. It gives both NATO and FBI as examples.

 

[gbaughma]

I had mistakenly started a similar thread in another forum, but I'll re-post a few.

Some have been made popular by the Dilbert comics... thank Scott Adams:

PHB - Pointy-Haired Boss
PFY - Pimply-Faced Youth (usually referring to a young tech or intern)

Chat rooms have their own set of both acronyms and emoticons; in fact I did my college thesis in Interpersonal Communications on the topic of relationships that are built on line without the non-verbal cues, and how emoticons and acronyms make up for non-verbal interactions. Some include:

BBS - Be Back Soon (this is a relatively new one, BBS used to mean Bulletin Board System in the online community)
ROFL - Rolling on floor laughing
ROFLMAO - Rolling on floor laughing my a** off
PMSL - P*ssed MySelf Laughing
IMHO - In My Humble Opinion

... The other interesting thing happening (and should probably be a new thread) are the new colloquialisms that the information age has provided, reflecting current pop-culture and trends. Stuff like:

"Just google for .... " (google now being used as a verb for using the google search engine to find information)

"Text me..." (referring to text messaging on cell phones)



Just my $.02

"In order to start solving a problem, one must first identify it's owner." --Me
--Greg

 

[Dimandja]

google now being used as a verb for using the google search engine to find information

Although I prefer to use Google to search, when I tell someone to "google", I don't really care what engine they use. "To google", in my mind means "to use an/any internet search engine".

 

[CajunCenturion]

An interesting observation. In such a short period of time, Google has gone from a proper noun to a generic verb.

Good Luck
--------------
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[sleipnir214]

I've long thought that was good marketing on the part of Google. They picked a name for their company that[ul][li]was not an English word[/li][li]could easily have been an English word[/li][li]is easy to spell[/li][li]and rolls off the tongue[/li][/ul]

Of course, building a better mousetrap with their search engine didn't hurt, either.


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TANSTAAFL!!

 

[Stella740pl]

sleipnir214,

I wouldn't say that "Google" was not an English word. It's was a play on, or an alternative spelling of a word "googol", meanining the number 10 to the power 100 (numeral 1 followed by 100 zeros). It was "coined at the age of nine by Milton Sirotta, nephew of Edward Kasner (1878-1955), American mathematician".

http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/g/g0195800.html

http://www.onelook.com/?loc=pub&w=googol

 

[sleipnir214]

According to the Google corporate history page, "google" was indeed a take on "googol".

But I doubt "googol" or "googolplex" was in the common parlance of anyone but mathematicians and computer geeks.


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TANSTAAFL!!