[punkpup]

Glossary of Internet Abbreviations: Email, Chat & IM Shorthand!

From Paul Gil, Your Guide to Internet for Beginners. August, 2007

ROFLMAO, BRB, NWOT, IMHO, RTFM, and other acronyms...
The strange world of Internet shorthand and acronyms.

Yes, Internet users will write email, discussion group, and chat room postings using these abbreviations. It is particularly helpful to people who are not strong typists.

These abbreviations are fun ways to add personal flavor to your email and online discussion postings. What's really amazing is the depth of Internet vocabulary that has been built up over the years.

Reminder: 90% of the time, these expressions are typed in all lowercase letters. On selective occasions, you are welcome to use them in all capitals to express enthusiasm. Just remember not to type entire sentences in all caps, lest you be considered rude.


BRB – be right back
BIO – going for bio break (washroom break)
AFK – away from keyboard (I am gone for a few minutes)
BTW – by the way
TTYL – talk to you later
BFN – bye for now
TTFN – ta-ta for now
CYA – see ya (or it could also be: cover your a*s)
CUL8R – see you later
IBTL – in before the lock (for when you post a message prior to the administrator locking the heated discussion thread)
IMHO – in my humble opinion
IMNSHO – in my not so humble opinion
FMV – fair market value (for selling items online)
LOL – laughing out loud
MT – mistell (commonly used by online gamers to say that they made a mistake and mistyped their last message)
NWT – new with tags (for selling items online)
NWOT – new without tags (for selling items online)
OOAK – one of a kind (for selling items online)
PMSL - P*ssing myself laughing (a common UK expression)
ROFL – rolling on floor laughing
ROFLMAO – rolling on floor laughing my a*s off
RTM – read the manual
RTFM – read the f***ing manual (to show frustration at someone's ignorance of basic knowledge)
GG – good game
THX - thanks
TX - thanks
TY - thank you
NP - no problem/you're welcome
PLZ - please
W/E - whatever
ASL – age / sex / location?
RL – real life
IRL – in real life

.02 My two cents worth.
<chuckle> the speaker chuckles
<frown> the speaker is frowning
<g> Grin
<grin> the speaker is grinning
<smile> the one writing the message is smiling
<smirk> the one writing the message is smirking
<wink> the one writing the message is winking
JK Just Kidding
? I have a question
! I have a comment


A-OLs Administrators On-Line
AAMOF As A Matter Of Fact
AFAIK As Far As I Know
AFK Away From the Keyboard
AISI As I See It
ASAP As Soon As Possible ASL Age, sex, location
ATSL Along The Same Line
AWTTW Are We Having Fun Yet?
AYOR At Your Own Risk
B4N Bye For Now
BAK Back At Keyboard
BBFN Bye Bye For Now
BBL Be Back Later
BF Boy Friend
BFFL Best Friend For Life
BFN Bye For Now
BH Better Half
BIF Before I Forget
BIL Brother-in-law
BION Believe it or not
BOT Back On Topic
BRB Be Right Back
BTAIM Be That As It May
BTHOM Beats The Hell Outta Me
BTOBD Be There Or Be Dead
BTW By The Way
BWL Bursting With Laughter
BYKT But You Knew That
BYOB Bring Your Own Bottle
CMIIW Correct Me If I’m Wrong
CU See You
CU2 See You, Too
CUL See you later
CUL8R See You Later
CWYL Chat With You Later
DD Dear daughter
DH Dear husband
DIIK Damned If I Know.
DIKU? Do I Know You?
DIL daughter-in-law
DILLIGAD Do I Look Like I Give A Darn?.
DIY Do It Yourself
DK Don’t Know
DS Dear son
DSD Dear step-daughter
DSS Dear step-son
DW Dear wife
F2F Face To Face
FCFS First Come, First Served
FIL Father-in-law
FISH First In, Still Here
FITB Fill In The Blank
FOAD F*** off and die
FOAF Friend Of A Friend
FS For Sale
FTASB Faster Than A Speeding Bullet
F2F Face to Face
FTF Face To Face
FTL Faster Than Light
FUBAR Fouled Up Beyond All Repair
FUBB Fouled Up Beyond Belief.
FUD Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt
FURTB Full Up Ready To Burst
FWIW For What It’s Worth
FYA For Your Amusement
FYI For Your Information
G Grin, or Giggle
G2G Got to Go
GA Go Ahead
GAL Get A Life
GD&R Grinning, Ducking and Running
GE Good evening
GF Girl Friend.
GFN Gone For Now.
GIWIST Gee, I Wish I’d Said That
GLGH Good Luck and Good Hunting
GM Good morning
GMTA Great Minds Think Alike
GOWI Get On With It
GTG Got To Go
GTSY Great To See You
H&K Hugs and Kisses
HAGD Have a good day
HAGN have a good night
HAK Hugs And Kisses
HTH Hope this helps
IAC In Any Case
IAE In Any Event
IANAL I Am Not A Lawyer (but) A disclaimer which is usually followed by a legal opinion
IAW In Accordance With
IBTD I Beg To Differ
IC I See
IDK I Don't Know
IIRC If I recall correctly
IIWM If It Were Me
IJWTK I Just Want To Know
IJWTS I Just Want To Say
IKWUM I Know What You Mean
IMA I Might Add
IME In My Experience
IMHO In My Humble Opinion
IMNSHO In My Not So Humble Opinion
IMO In My Opinion
IMPOV In My Point Of View
INPO In No Particular Order
IOW In Other Words
IRL In Real Life
ISO in search of
ISS I’m So Sure
ISSYGTI I’m So Sure You Get The Idea!
ISWYM I See What You Mean
ITFA In The Final Analysis
ITSFWI If The Shoe Fits Wear It.
IYSWIM If You See What I Mean
JAM Just A Minute
JAS Just A Second
JFI Just For Information
JIC Just In Case
JMO Just My Opinion
JTLYK Just To Let You Know
k Okay
KISS Keep It Simple, Stupid
KIT Keep In Touch
KMA Kiss My A**
KWIM Know What I Mean?
KYFC Keep Your Fingers Crossed
L Laugh
L8R Later
LABATYD or LAB&TYD Life's A B**ch And Then You Die
LJBF Let’s Just Be Friends
LLTA Lots and Lots of Thunderous Applause
LMAO Laughing My A** Off
LMBO Laugh my butt off
LMHO Laughing My Head Off
LOL Laughing Out Loud
LSHMBH Laughing So Hard My Belly Hurts.
LTHTT Laughing Too Hard To Type
LTNS Long Time No See
LTNT Long Time, No Type
LTS Laughing to Self
LY Love You
MEGO My Eyes Glaze Over
MIL mother-in-law
MLA Multiple Letter Acronym
MOF Matter Of Fact
MOSS Member Of Same Sex
MOTAS Member Of The Appropriate Sex
MOTD Message of the day
MOTOS Member Of The Opposite Sex
MOTSS Member Of The Same Sex
MTFBWY May The Force Be With You
MYOB Mind Your Own Business
NAVY Never Again Voluneer Yourself.
NBD No Big Deal
NFW No Friggin' Way!
NHOH Never Heard Of Him/Her
NOYB None Of Your Business
NP No Problem
NQA No Questions Asked
NTIM Not That It Matters
NTW Not To Worry
NTYMI Now That You Mention It
NWT New With Tags (for selling items online)
NWOT New Without Tags (for selling items online)
OATUS On A Totally Unrelated Subject
OAUS On An Unrelated Subject
OB Obligatory
OBO Or Best Offer
OBTW Oh, By The Way
OIC Oh, I See
OMG Oh My God
ONNA Oh No, Not Again
ONNTA Oh No, Not This Again
OO Over and Out (end of communication)
OOTC Obligatory On-Topic Comment
OTF On the Floor (laughing)
OTFL On the Floor Laughing
OTL Out To Lunch
OTOH On The Other Hand
OTOOH On The Other Other Hand
OTT Over The Top
OTTH On The Third Hand
OTTOMH Off The Top Of My Head
PABG Packing a Big Gun
PCMCIA People Can't Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms
PD Public Domain
PDS Please Don't Shout.
PITA Pain In The A**
PMBI Pardon My Butting In
PMF Pardon My French or Pure Freaking Magic.
PMFBI Pardon Me For Butting In
PMFJI Pardon Me For Jumping In
PMIGBOM Put Mind In Gear, Before Opening Mouth
PMJI Pardon My Jumping In
PMSL P*ssing Myself Laughing (a common UK expression)
PNCAH Please, No Cursing Allowed Here
POSSLQ Person Of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters
PPL People
PTMM Please Tell Me More
R U THERE? Are you there?
RAEBNC Read And Enjoyed, But No Comment
RAK random acts of kindness
re Hello again or In Regard To
RHIP Rank Has Its Privileges
RL Real Life
RLCO Real Life Conference
ROFL Rolling On Floor Laughing
ROFLAS Rolling On Floor Laughing And Screaming
ROFLMAO Roll On Floor Laughing My A** Off
ROTF Rolling On The Floor
ROTFL Rolling On The Floor Laughing
ROTFLMAOTID Rolling On The Floor Laughing My A** Off Till I Die
ROTFLOL Rolling On The Floor Laughing Out Loud
ROTFLOLAPMP Rolling On The Floor Laughing Out Loud And Peeing My Pants
ROTFLTIC Rolling On The Floor Laughing Till I Cry
RRQ Return Receipt Request
RSN Real Soon Now
RSVP Respondez S'il Vous Plait - please reply
RTBM Read The Bloody Manual
RTFAQ Read The Frequently Asked Questions
RTFF Read The Freaking FAQ
RTFM Read The F------ Manual
RTM Read The Manual
RTWFQ Read The Whole Friggin' Question
RYFM Read Your Friendly Manual
RYS Read Your Screen
S Smile
SA smart aleck
SAHM stay at home mom
SAPFU Surpassing All Previous Foul Ups
SCNR Sorry, Could Not Resist
SEC Wait a second
SFLA Stupid Four Letter Acronym
SICS Sitting In Chair Snickering
SIL sister-in-law or son-in-law
SLM See Last Mail
SMOP Small Matter of Programming
SNAFU Situation Normal: All Fouled Up
SNERT snot nosed egotistical rude teenager
SO Significant Other
SOL SH** Out Of Luck
SOS Same Old Stuff or Help!
SOW Speaking Of Which
SWIM See What I Mean?
TAFN That’s All For Now
TANJ There Ain’t No Justice
TANSTAAFL There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch
TARFU Things Are Really Fouled Up
TBYB Try Before You Buy
TC take care
TDM Too Darn Many
TFS Three Finger Salute (Ctl-Alt-Del).
TFTHAOT Thanks For The Help Ahead Of Time
THX Thanks
TIA Thanks In Advance
TIC Tongue In Cheek
TINWIS That Is Not What I Said
TNSTAAFL There's No Such Thing As A Free Lunch
TNTL Trying Not To Laugh
TNX Thanks
TNXE6 Thanks A Million
TOBAL There Oughta Be A Law.
TOBG This Oughta Be Good.
TOY Thinking Of You.
TPTB The Powers That Be
TRDMC Tears Running Down My Cheeks.
TSR Totally Stupid Rules.
TTBOMK To The Best Of My Knowledge
TTFN Ta Ta For Now
TTYL Talk To You Later
TTYT Talk To You Tomorrow
TY Thank you
TYCLO Turn Your CAPS LOCK Off
TYVM Thank You Very Much
UOK Are You OK?
WAEF When All Else Fails
WB Welcome Back
WDYMBT What Do You Mean By That?.
WDYT What Do You Think?
WE Whatever
WIBAMU Well, I'll Be A Monkey's Uncle
WIBNI Wouldn’t It Be Nice If
WMMOWS Wash My Mouth Out With Soap
WNOHGB Where No One Has Gone Before
WOA Work Of Art
WOTAM Waste Of Time And Money
WRT With Regard To, or With Respect To
WT Without Thinking
WTB Want To Buy
WTF What The F***?
WTG Way To Go!
WTGP Want To Go Private?
WTH What the hell?
WTTM Without Thinking Too Much.
WYGISWYPF What You Get Is What You Pay For
XOXOXO Kisses and hugs
YABA Yet Another Bloody Acronym
YAOTM Yet Another Off-Topic Message
YAUN Yet Another Unix Nerd
YGLT You're Gonna Love This
YGTI You Get The Idea?
YGWYPF You Get What You Pay For
YIU Yes, I Understand
YIWGP Yes, I Will Go Private
YKYARW You Know You're A Redneck When
YMMV Your Mileage May Vary (or your experience could be different)
YW you’re welcome


The following sites can be helpful too: http://www.netlingo.com and http://www.acronymfinder.com.'

Taken from another forum but edited. http://www.recipezaar.com/help/faq?section=2

[Donna]

And I thought I had a lot to memorize, when I became a Parmedic..

[punkpup]

Now Donna,
How 'bout sharing those new emoticons you've got!?!?!

[Donna]

Punkpup,

I had to buy them..I wish I could share them with you..I would let all the peeps here use them...shhhhh

I will send you their link...

[punkpup]

Awesome! Thanx

[Barefoot]

Punkpup

OK, I've got them all memorized, what else ya got?

[Reliancepeech]

TY Punkpup, I needed that.
Not quite long enough, though.
I didn't see two of my favorites...
NANN - need a nap now
ICR - I can't remember

[F16 1UB]

dag gone pup i can't remember what i ate for breakfast and you expect me to remember this? went with neighbors last night for xmas gig. had 16 yr old daughter that texted the whole time.

f16

[punkpup]

Thanx Reliancepeech, I added them to the list. :bigthumbsup:

:#1: Gold stars to Reliancepeech & barefoot at last.

F16 1UB, not to worry, a study group begins tomorrow night. Soon you'll know what those kids are texting to each other! ;D

[Barefoot]

Punkpup

Please sign me up for the Study group along with F16. I fell asleep after the sixth entry, bye for now.


zzzzzzz

[Hyacinth Bucket]

Hi Punkpup,

Thanks for bringing me into the 21st century. I hope there is no test on all the acronyms you posted.

Hyacinth Bucket or my acronym HB

c ya l8tr, allig8tor - now I am revealing my age

[nONIE]

Hi Peech,

wrong post I know, but could ya tell us a little about your pic? Much appreciated!

[nhsnowbird]

All I can say is .... I'm old and this is just too much for my tired old brain!

Peech, looks like you were part of the peanut gallery ... what a trip that must have been.

Pat