E-Mail/BBS Acronyms
A few of the more common electronic communications acronyms are individually included and expanded on these pages. This page expands some of the others you may encounter. Please note that shortcuts are frequently made up on the spot so there is no possibility of including every acronym you may encounter here. You may also see these in either lower or upper case. I've used upper case here for clarity.
A second page covers some of the text art used in electronic communications (emoticons or smileys).
4EVR - Forever AAAAA - American Association Against Acronym Abuse ADR - Address AFAIC - As Far As I'm Concerned AFAIK - As Far As I Know AFAYC - As Far As You're Concerned AFK - Away From Keyboard AISI - As I See It AKA - Also Known As ALOL - Actually Laughing Out Loud AML - All My Love ANFSCD - And Now For Something Completely Different ASAP - As Soon As Possible ASL - Age/Sex/Location ASLMH - Age/Sex/Location/Music/Hobbies ATM - At The Moment AWOL - Absent Without Leave B/C - Because B4 - Before BAK - Back At Keyboard BBFN - Bye Bye For Now BBL - Be Back Later BBS - Be Back Soon BBSL - Be Back Sooner or Later BCNU - Be Seeing You BCOZ - Because BEOS - Nudge BFN - Bye For Now BKA - Better Known As BRB - Be Right Back BRT - Be Right There BTW - By The Way BUAYA - To Sweet Talk You CFV - Call For Vote CU - See You (good bye) CUL - See You Later CUL8ER - See You Later CY - Calm Yourself CYA - Cover Your A__ DH - Dear Hubby (Husband) DL - Download DMI - Don't Mention It DOD - We could tell you but then we'd have to kill you! DUCT - Did You See That? EG - Evil Grin EL - Evil Laugh F2F - Face to Face FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions FAQL - Frequently Asked Questions List FAWC - For Anyone Who Cares FFK - Fong Fei Kei - To Stand You Up FOAF - Friend Of A Friend FTASB - Faster Than A Speeding Bullet FTF - Face To Face FTL - Faster Than Light FUBAR - F_____d Up Beyond All Recognition FWIW - For What It's Worth FYA - For Your Amusement FYI - For Your Information GA - Go Ahead GALGAL - Give A Little Get A Little GBH - Great Big Hug GD&R - Grinning, Ducking and Running (usually after snide remark) GG - Good Game GGN - Gotta Go Now GL - Good Luck GMTA - Great Minds Think Alike GR8 - Great HIH - Hope It Helps HILIACACLO - Help I Lapsed Into A Coma And Can't Log Off HTH - Hope This Helps HUGZ - Hugs IAE - In Any Event IANAL - I Am Not A Lawyer IAT - I am Tired IC - I See ICBW - I Could Be Wrong IDK - I Don't Know IGTP - I Get The Point IHNO - I Have No Opinion IHTFP - I Have Truly Found Paradise (I Hate This F_____n Place) IIR - If I Recall IIRC - If I Recall Correctly IM - Instant Message IMAO - In My Arrogant Opinion IMHO - In My Humble Opinion IMNSHO - In My Not-So-Humble Opinion IMO - In My Opinion INPO - In No Particular Order IOW - In Other Words IRL - In Real Life IYKWIM - If You Know What I Mean IYKWIMAITYD - If You Know What I Mean And I Think You Do JK (or J/K) - Just Kidding JM2C - Just My 2 Cents JT - Just Teasing K - Okay KBD - Keyboard KEWL - Cool KOK - Knock KOTC - Kiss On The Cheek KOTL - Kiss On The Lips L8R - Later LMAO - Laughing My A__ Off LOL - Laughing Out Loud LOLA - Laugh Out Loud Again LOOL - Laughing Outragously Out Loud LWR - Launch When Ready LYLAS - Love You Like a Sister MOMPL - One Moment Please MOO - Multi-user Dungeon Object-Oriented MOTAS - Member Of The Appropriate Sex MOTOS - Member Of The Opposite Sex MOTSS - Member Of The Same Sex MSG - Message MTBF - Mean Time Between Failure MTFBWY - May The Force Be With You MUAK - Smooch MUD - Multiple User Dungeon MUSH - Multi User Shared Hallucination N/A - Not Acceptable N1 - Nice One NDA - Non-Disclosure Agreement NM - Nevermind NP - No Problem NRN - No Reply Necessary NTK - Nice To Know OB- - Obligatory (as a prefix) OBJOKE - Obligatory Joke OIC - Oh, I See! OK - All Correct (I Approve) OMG - Oh My God ONNA - Oh No, Not Again ONNTA - Oh No, Not This Again OOI - Out Of Interest OS - Operating System OTOH - On The Other Hand OTOOH - On The Other Other Hand OUSU - Oh, You Shut Up PD - Public Domain PDA - Public Display of Affection PIAK - Slap In The Face PITA - Pain In The A__ PLS - Please PM - Personal Message PMFJI - Pardon Me For Jumping In PMIGBOM - Put Mind In Gear Before Opening Mouth PMJI - Pardon My Jumping In POV - Point of View PPL - People PS - Post Script QL - Quit Laughing! QS - Quit Scrolling QT - Cutie RBAY - Right Back At Ya RE - Regards or Hello Again RFC - Request For Comments RFD - Request For Discussion RFI - Request For Information RL - Real Life ROFL - Rolling On Floor Laughing ROFLASTC - Rolling On Floor Laughing And Scaring The Cat ROFLGO - Rolling On Floor Laughing Guts Out ROFLMAO - Rolling On Floor Laughing My A__ Off! ROFLOL - Rolling On Floor Laughing Out Loud ROTFL - Rolling On The Floor Laughing ROTFLABIC - Rolling On The Floor Laughing And Biting Into Carpet ROTFLOL - Rolling On The Floor Laughing Out Loud RTFAQ - Read The FAQ RTFM - Read The F___ing Manual RX - Regards (Regs) SCNR - Sorry Couldn't Resist SED - Said Enough Darling SF - Science Fiction SFETE - Smiling From Ear To Ear SMAIM - Send Me An Instant Message SME - Subject Matter Expert SNAFU - Situation Normal, All F___ed Up SNAILMAIL - Postal Mail Service SO - Significant Other (e.g., spouse, boy/girlfriend) SOHF - Sense Of Humor Failure SPAM - Stupid Persons' Advertisement SSEWBA - Someday Soon, Everything Will Be Acronyms SU - Shut Up SWAG - Scientific Wild A__ Guess SWALK - Sealed With A Loving Kiss TAS - Taking A Shower TFDS - That's For Darn Sure THANX - Thanks THX - Thanks TIA - Thanks In Advance TIC - Tongue In Cheek TNC - Tongue In Cheek TNX - Thanks TPTB - The Powers That Be TSR - Terminal and Stay Resindent TTFN - Ta Ta For Now TTYL - Talk To You Later TWIMC - To Whom It May Concern TY - Thank You TYVM - Thank You Very Much U - You U2 - You Too? UR - Your VBG - Very Big Grin VBS - Very Big Smile VEG - Very Evil Grin VSF - Very Sad Face W/ - With W/B - Write Back W/O - without WAD - Without A Doubt WB - Welcome Back WBS - Write Back Soon WEG - Wicked Evil Grin WISP - Winning Is So Pleasureable WNOHGB - Were No One Has Gone Before WRT - With Respect To WT - Without Thinking WTG - Way To Ggo WTH - What The Heck WTTM - Without Thinking To Much WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get WYWH - Wish You Were Here XM - Excuse Me XME - Excuuuuse Me XO - Hugs, Kisses Y - Why YMMV - Your Mileage May Vary YTTDSFATCCSH - Yours Till The Desert Sands Freeze And The Camels Come Skating Home YW - Your Welcome YWIA - You're Welcome In Advance ZZZ - Sleeping, Bored, Tired