Chat and instant messaging has spawned a short-hand language to help communicate via the keyboard.
Abbreviation | Meaning |
---|---|
ADN | Any day now |
AFAIK | As far as I know |
AFK | Away from keyboard |
ARE | Acronym-rich environment |
A/S/L? | Age/sex/location? |
B4N | Bye for now |
BAK | Back at the keyboard |
BBIAB | Be back in a bit |
BBL | Be back later |
BEG | Big evil grin |
BFD | Big f***ing deal |
BFN | Bye for now |
BG | Big grin |
BIOYIOP | Blow it out your I/O port |
BL | Belly laughing |
BOTEC | Back-of-the-envelope calculation |
BRB | Be right back |
BTA | But then again... |
BTW | By the way |
BWL | Burst With Laughter |
BWTHDIK | But what the heck do I know...? |
CU | See you |
CUL | See you later |
CUL8ER | See you later |
CYA | Cover your ass |
CYO | See you online |
DBA | Doing business as |
DFLA | Disenhanced four-letter acronym (that is, a TLA) |
DL | Dead link |
DIKU | Do I know you? |
DITYID | Did I tell you I'm distressed? |
DQMOT | Don't quote me on this |
EG | Evil grin |
EMFBI | Excuse me for butting in |
EOM | End of message |
EOT | End of thread (meaning: end of discussion) |
ETLA | Extended three-letter acronym (that is, an FLA) |
F2F | Face to face |
FAQ | Frequently-ask question(s) |
FISH | First in, still here |
FLA | Four-letter acronym |
FMTYEWTK | Far more than you ever wanted to know |
FOMCL | Falling off my chair laughing |
FUBAR | F***ed up beyond all repair or recognition |
FUD | Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt |
FWIW | For what it's worth |
FYI | For your information |
G | Grin |
G2G | Got to go |
GA | Go ahead |
GAL | Get a life |
GD&R | Grinning, ducking, and running |
GIWIST | Gee, I wish I'd said that |
GMTA | Great minds think alike |
GOL | Giggling out loud |
GTRM | Going to read mail |
HTH | Hope this helps |
IAC | In any case |
IANAL | I am not a lawyer (but) |
IC | I see |
IDK | I don't know |
IHA | I hate acronyms |
IIRC | If I recall/remember/recollect correctly |
ILU or ILY | I love you |
IM | Immediate/Instant message |
IMHO | In my humble opinion |
IMing | Chatting with someone online usually while doing other things such as playing trivia or other interactive game |
IMNSHO | In my not so humble opinion |
IMO | In my opinion |
IOW | In other words |
IPN | I'm posting naked |
IRL | In real life |
IYSWIM | If you see what I mean |
JBOD | Just a bunch of disks (like redundant array of independent disks, etc.) |
JIC | Just in case |
JK | Just kidding |
KOTC | Kiss on the cheek |
KWIM? | Know what I mean? |
L8R | Later |
LD | Later, dude |
LDR | Long-distance relationship |
LLTA | Lots and lots of thunderous applause |
LMAO | Laugh(ing) My Ass Off |
LMLYG | Let Me Let You Go |
LOL | Laugh(ing) Out Loud |
LRF | Little Rubber Feet (the little pads on the bottom of displays and other equipment) |
LTM | Laugh to myself |
LTR | Long-term relationship |
LULAB | Love you like a brother |
LULAS | Love you like a sister |
MorF | Male or female |
MOSS | Member of the same sex |
MOTOS | Member of the opposite sex |
MUSM | Miss you so much |
NM | Not much |
NFG | No f*****g good |
NFW | No feasible way or no f*****g way |
NIFOC | Naked in front of computer |
NP or N/P | No problem |
NRN | No response necessary |
OIC | Oh, I see |
OLL | Online love |
OTF | Off the floor |
OTOH | On the other hand |
OTTOMH | Off the top of my head |
PANS | Pretty awesome new stuff (as opposed to "POTS") |
PCMCIA | People can't master computer industry acronyms |
PDA | Public display of affection |
PEBCAK | Problem exists between chair and keyboard |
PIBKAC | Problem is between keyboard and chair |
PITA | Pain in the ass |
PMFJIB | Pardon me for jumping in but... |
::POOF:: | Goodbye (leaving the room) |
POS | Parent over shoulder (change the topic) |
POTS | Plain old telephone service |
PU | That stinks! |
RL | Real life (that is, when not chatting) |
ROR | Raffing out roud (Engrish for "laughing out loud") |
ROTFL | Rolling on the floor laughing |
ROTFLMAO | Rolling on the floor laughing my a** off |
ROTFLMAOWPIMP | Rolling on the floor laughing my a** off while peeing in my pants |
ROTFLMBO | Rolling on the floor laughing my butt off |
RPG | Role-playing games |
RSN | Real soon now |
RTFM | Read the f***ing manual |
RYO | Roll your own (write your own program; derived from cigarettes rolled yourself with tobacco and paper) |
S4L | Spam for life (what you may get when you become someone's customer or client) |
SHCOON | Shoot hot coffee out of nose |
SEG | S***-eating grin |
SF | Surfer-friendly (low-graphics Web site) |
SNAFU | Situation normal, all f***ed up |
SO | Significant other |
SOHF | Sense of humor failure |
SOL | Smilling out loud or sh*t out of luck |
SOMY | Sick of me yet? |
STFW | Search the f*****g Web |
STW | Search the Web |
SWAG | Stupid wild-a** guess |
TAFN | That's all for now |
TANSTAAFL | There ain't no such thing as a free lunch |
TFH | Thread from hell (a discussion that just won't die and is often irrelevant to the purpose of the forum or group) |
TGIF | Thank God it's Friday |
THX | Thanks |
TIA | Thanks in advance (used if you post a question and are expecting a helpful reply) |
TLA | Three-letter acronym |
TLK2UL8R | Talk to you later |
TMI | Too much information |
TOPCA | Til our paths cross again (early Celtic chat term) |
TPTB | The powers that be |
TTFN | Ta-Ta for now |
TTT | Thought that, too (when someone types in what you were about to type) |
TTYL | Talk to you later |
TU | Thank you |
UAPITA | You're a pain in the ass |
UW | You're welcome |
VBG | Very big grin |
VBSEG | Very big s***-eating grin |
WDALYIC | Who died and left you in charge? |
WFM | Works for me |
WIBNI | Wouldn't it be nice if |
WRT | With respect to |
WT? | What/who the ? |
WTFO | What the F***! Over! |
WTG | Way to go! |
WTGP? | Want to go private? |
WU? | What's up? |
WUF? | Where are you from? |
WYSIWYG | What you see is what you get |
YGBSM | You gotta be s***tin' me! |
YMMV | Your mileage may vary. |
YMIA | You're welcome in advance |