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{{trope}}
{{cleanup|The page has multiple duplicate entries, which need to be consolidated.}}
Much of the scientific and information technology communities seem to have the most fun with Acronyms.
== General ==
* The UK's main police computer system is the '''H'''ome '''O'''ffice '''L'''arge '''M'''ajor '''E'''nquiry '''S'''ystem, or H.O.L.M.E.S. Whether whoever named it knew about the '''H'''igh-'''O'''ptional, '''L'''ogical, '''M'''ulti-'''E'''valuating '''S'''upervisor in Robert Heinlein's ''The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress'' is unknown.▼
* The Scotland Yard computer system is the '''[[Sherlock Holmes|H]]'''[[Sherlock Holmes|ome]] '''[[Sherlock Holmes|O]]'''[[Sherlock Holmes|ffice]] '''[[Department of Redundancy Department|L]]'''[[Department of Redundancy Department|arge]] '''[[Department of Redundancy Department|M]]'''[[Department of Redundancy Department|ajor]] '''[[Sherlock Holmes|E]]'''[[Sherlock Holmes|nquiry]] '''[[Sherlock Holmes|S]]'''[[Sherlock Holmes|ystem]]. Because '''HOES''' would just be silly.▼
** But '''HOLES''' wouldn't...Oh, right, ''[[British Coppers|Scotland Yard]]''...▼
*** Though tagged as [[Department of Redundancy Department]] , they will tell you that it is Major Enquiry System that itself is large. Definately not a Backronym then.▼
* Many computer geeks make use of the meta-recursive TLA -- which stands for "Three Letter Acronym" -- in reference to all the three letter acronyms that seem to come up whenever one discusses technology.
** The acronym "GNU" stands for '''G'''NU's '''N'''ot '''U'''nix. This one was arguably inspired by "XINU" - '''X'''INU '''I'''s '''N'''ot '''U'''nix - which earns special points for being not only a recursive acronym, but also the word ''Unix'' spelled backwards. And a backronym, to boot.▼
** And, for all the ''four'' letter acronyms, there is the '''E'''xtended '''T'''hree '''L'''etter '''A'''cronym - which is a four-letter acronym itself.
*** Not to mention '''M'''ore '''T'''han '''T'''hree '''L'''etter '''A'''cronym.
* The hacker phrase "'''W'''aste '''O'''f '''M'''oney, '''B'''rain '''A'''nd '''T'''ime ('''W.O.M.B.A.T.''')▼
* While studying telecommunications, this troper has come up with many names for his practices that have a hidden reference to ''[[The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]]'':▼
** '''H'''amming '''A'''lgorithm '''R'''ecovery '''U'''nit for '''H'''arnessing '''I'''nformation ('''H.A.R.U.H.I.''')▼
== Astronomy ==
** '''M'''odulated '''I'''nput '''K'''eying '''U'''nmodulator for '''R'''adio '''U'''nicasting ('''M.I.K.U.R.U.''')▼
** '''N'''etwork '''A'''ddressing '''G'''ateway '''A'''pplication for '''T'''unneling '''O'''perations ('''N.A.G.A.T.O.''')▼
** '''A'''utomated '''S'''elf-'''A'''ctivated '''K'''illing of '''U'''ser '''R'''equested '''A'''pplications ('''A.S.A.K.U.R.A.'''; [[Knife Nut|emphasis]] [[Girl with Psycho Weapon|on the]] [[Yandere|"killing" part!]])▼
* Studies conducted at '''T'''he '''I'''nstitute for '''G'''enomic '''R'''esearch often make use of '''B'''asic '''L'''ocal '''A'''lignment '''S'''earch '''T'''ool. When a genome is worked out, it may be posted to the '''G'''enome '''O'''n'''l'''ine '''D'''atabase▼
* Unix gives us the '''B'''ourne-'''A'''gain '''Sh'''ell▼
* The eccentric UK pop-science magazine ''New Scientist'' had a laugh at the expense of the Thin Layer Unimorph Driver and Sensor, which is very tenuously acronymised as '''THUNDER'''.▼
* '''B'''eginner's '''A'''ll-purpose '''S'''ymbolic '''I'''nstruction '''C'''ode.▼
** This is a true backronym; it was originally just "Basic", the words were added (unofficially at first) because the public simply ''expected'' computer-language names to be acronyms.▼
* The computer that selects the numbers in Britain's monthly Premium Bond prize draw (actually the latest in a long line of computers) goes by the disarmingly quaint name of E.R.N.I.E. ('''E'''lectronic '''R'''andom '''N'''umber '''I'''ndicator '''E'''quipment)▼
* The underwater pipeline that supplied the Mulberry harbours with fuel for the D-Day landings had one of the simplest and most elegant acronyms ever: P.L.U.T.O. ('''P'''ipe '''L'''ines '''U'''nder '''T'''he '''O'''cean.) (Although strictly speaking the English Channel is not an ocean. That's okay, Pluto isn't, strictly speaking, a planet.).▼
* The encryption algorithm '''C'''ipher '''O'''rganized with '''C'''ute '''O'''perations and '''N'''-'''U'''niversal '''T'''ransformation 19'''98''' ('''C.O.C.O.N.U.T. 98''').▼
* There's a type of ''Escherichia coli'' called the '''G'''rowth '''A'''dvantage in '''S'''tationary '''P'''hase phenotype.▼
* The '''R'''emote '''A'''uthentication '''D'''ial '''I'''n '''U'''ser '''S'''ervice ('''R.A.D.I.U.S.''') protocol; its successor is called '''D.I.A.M.E.T.E.R.'''▼
* Found on [[That Other Wiki]]:
** '''W'''eakly '''I'''nteracting '''M'''assive '''P'''articles, which links to
** '''MA'''ssive '''C'''ompact '''H'''alo '''O'''bject, which links to
** '''R'''obust '''A'''ssociations of '''M'''assive '''B'''aryonic '''O'''bjects, at which point you notice the astronomers were just having [[Fun with Acronyms]].
* There are two main hypotheses for how Dark Matter works- '''W'''eakly '''I'''nteracting '''M'''assive '''P'''articles or '''Ma'''ssive '''C'''ompact '''H'''alo '''O'''bjects. '''WIMP'''s and '''MACHO'''s, anyone?▼
** Somehow, it'd be funnier if it was '''Na'''tural instead of '''Ma'''ssive.▼
** Bill Bryson suggested that for now, we use the term '''D'''ark '''U'''nknown '''N'''onreflective '''N'''ondetectable '''O'''bjects '''S'''omewhere.▼
** '''R'''obust '''A'''ssociations of '''M'''assive '''B'''aryonic '''O'''bjects ▼
** A person critical of the theory proposed to call it '''F'''abricated '''A'''d hoc '''I'''nventions '''R'''epeatedly '''I'''nvoked in '''E'''fforts to '''D'''efend '''U'''ntenable '''S'''cientific '''T'''heories.▼
** On a related note, string theory and other attempts at "theories of everything" meant to explain all of physics in a simple, intuitive way are known as '''G'''rand '''U'''nified '''T'''heories.▼
* '''B'''erkeley '''O'''pen '''I'''nfrastructure for '''N'''etwork '''C'''omputing (a framework used for SETI@Home and other distributed computing projects), presumably a reference to the [[Calvin and Hobbes]] collection ''Scientific Progress Goes "Boink"''.▼
== Biology ==
▲* Studies conducted at '''T'''he '''I'''nstitute for '''G'''enomic '''R'''esearch often make use of '''B'''asic '''L'''ocal '''A'''lignment '''S'''earch '''T'''ool. When a genome is worked out, it may be posted to the '''G'''enome '''O'''n'''l'''ine '''D'''atabase
▲* There's a type of ''Escherichia coli'' called the '''G'''rowth '''A'''dvantage in '''S'''tationary '''P'''hase phenotype.
* '''B'''ased '''U'''pon '''R'''elated '''S'''equence '''T'''ypes, an algorithm for assigning bacteria to groups based on their DNA sequences.
* The gene "[[wikipedia:Zbtb7|Zbtb7]]" was formerly known as the "'''POK''' '''e'''rythroid '''m'''yeloid '''on'''togenic factor", which was often shortened to [[Pokémon]]. Pokemon USA naturally threatened to sue, as they didn't want Pokemon to be associated with the gene that may be the trigger for ''cancer'', of all things.▼
* In a 2007 article in Chemical Communications, the unfortunate effect of abbreviating copper ('''Cu''') '''n'''ano'''t'''ubes in that way was lost on the Chinese authors.▼
▲* The hacker phrase "'''W'''aste '''O'''f '''M'''oney, '''B'''rain '''A'''nd '''T'''ime ('''W.O.M.B.A.T.''')
== Chemistry ==
▲* In a 2007 article in ''Chemical Communications'', the unfortunate effect of abbreviating copper ('''Cu''') '''n'''ano'''t'''ubes in that way was lost on the Chinese authors.
== Computing ==
▲* The UK's main police computer system is the '''H'''ome '''O'''ffice '''L'''arge '''M'''ajor '''E'''nquiry '''S'''ystem, or H.O.L.M.E.S. Whether whoever named it knew about the '''H'''igh-'''O'''ptional, '''L'''ogical, '''M'''ulti-'''E'''valuating '''S'''upervisor in Robert Heinlein's ''The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress'' is unknown.
▲* The Scotland Yard computer system is the '''[[Sherlock Holmes|H]]'''[[Sherlock Holmes|ome]] '''[[Sherlock Holmes|O]]'''[[Sherlock Holmes|ffice]] '''[[Department of Redundancy Department|L]]'''[[Department of Redundancy Department|arge]] '''[[Department of Redundancy Department|M]]'''[[Department of Redundancy Department|ajor]] '''[[Sherlock Holmes|E]]'''[[Sherlock Holmes|nquiry]] '''[[Sherlock Holmes|S]]'''[[Sherlock Holmes|ystem]]. Because '''HOES''' would just be silly.
▲** But '''HOLES''' wouldn't...Oh, right, ''[[British Coppers|Scotland Yard]]''...
▲*** Though tagged as [[Department of Redundancy Department]] , they will tell you that it is Major Enquiry System that itself is large. Definately not a Backronym then.
▲
▲* Unix gives us the '''B'''ourne-'''A'''gain '''Sh'''ell
▲* '''B'''eginner's '''A'''ll-purpose '''S'''ymbolic '''I'''nstruction '''C'''ode.
▲** This is a true backronym; it was originally just "Basic", the words were added (unofficially at first) because the public simply ''expected'' computer-language names to be acronyms.
* '''B'''eginner's '''A'''ll-purpose '''S'''ymbolic '''I'''nstruction '''C'''ode.▼
▲* The computer that selects the numbers in Britain's monthly Premium Bond prize draw (actually the latest in a long line of computers) goes by the disarmingly quaint name of E.R.N.I.E. ('''E'''lectronic '''R'''andom '''N'''umber '''I'''ndicator '''E'''quipment)
* The PCMCIA standard does ''not'' stand for '''P'''eople '''C'''an't '''M'''emorize '''C'''omputer '''I'''ndustry '''A'''cronyms. But it ought to.
* The computer language Perl (not 'PERL') is accepted by [[Word of God]] to stand for '''P'''athologically '''E'''clectic '''R'''ubbish '''L'''ister, as well as the more formal '''P'''ractical '''E'''xtraction and '''R'''eporting '''L'''anguage.
* The "codenames" of computer science research prototypes are rife with these. The most egregious example I've seen is Rich Wolski's "'''EUCALYPTUS''' - '''E'''lastic '''U'''tility '''C'''omputing '''A'''rchitecture for '''L'''inking '''Y'''our '''P'''rograms '''T'''o '''U'''seful '''S'''ystems."▼
* It's probably coincidental, but there's a town in ''[[The Elder Scrolls]] III: Morrowind'' called Suran, and during the 80's there was a project for a packet-switched radio network called '''Sur'''vivable '''Ra'''dio '''N'''etwork ('''SURAN''').▼
▲*The "codenames" of computer science research prototypes are rife with these. The most egregious example I've seen is Rich Wolski's "'''EUCALYPTUS''' - '''E'''lastic '''U'''tility '''C'''omputing '''A'''rchitecture for '''L'''inking '''Y'''our '''P'''rograms '''T'''o '''U'''seful '''S'''ystems."
*''COBOL'' stands for Common Business Oriented Language.
* The '''M'''icro'''S'''oft '''C'''ritical '''U'''pdate '''N'''otification '''T'''ool. Google it.
Line 43 ⟶ 53:
* While the Cisco's Carrier Routing System router, CRS-1 was in development, it was known by the code name of HFR that stands for '''H'''uge [[Cluster F-Bomb|Fucking]] '''R'''outer.
* Subverted with the esoteric programming language, [[w:INTERCAL|INTERCAL]], which stands for "Compiler Language With No Pronounceable Acronym".
▲* There are two main hypotheses for how Dark Matter works- '''W'''eakly '''I'''nteracting '''M'''assive '''P'''articles or '''Ma'''ssive '''C'''ompact '''H'''alo '''O'''bjects. '''WIMP'''s and '''MACHO'''s, anyone?
▲** Somehow, it'd be funnier if it was '''Na'''tural instead of '''Ma'''ssive.
▲** Bill Bryson suggested that for now, we use the term '''D'''ark '''U'''nknown '''N'''onreflective '''N'''ondetectable '''O'''bjects '''S'''omewhere.
▲** '''R'''obust '''A'''ssociations of '''M'''assive '''B'''aryonic '''O'''bjects
▲** A person critical of the theory proposed to call it '''F'''abricated '''A'''d hoc '''I'''nventions '''R'''epeatedly '''I'''nvoked in '''E'''fforts to '''D'''efend '''U'''ntenable '''S'''cientific '''T'''heories.
▲** On a related note, string theory and other attempts at "theories of everything" meant to explain all of physics in a simple, intuitive way are known as '''G'''rand '''U'''nified '''T'''heories.
* The '''F'''ree/'''L'''ibre/'''O'''pen '''S'''ource '''S'''oftware community seems to be quite fond of this one:
** '''G'''NU's '''N'''ot '''U'''nix being the most obvious example. (It refers to the fact that GNU intends to be similar to Unix, but contains no code from Unix.)
Line 64 ⟶ 68:
** '''I'''onization '''FR'''ont '''I'''nteractive '''T'''ool (3D data visualizer, now generic, but originally for stellar fireworks and named appropriately)
* There's apparently a computer-based analysis tool for '''N'''onnumerical, '''U'''nstructured '''D'''ata '''I'''ndexing, '''S'''earching, and '''T'''heorizing. In what is probably an attempt to not look too crude, the official acronym used by research papers throws in an asterisk in the middle to be <nowiki>NUD*IST</nowiki>...
▲* The gene "[[wikipedia:Zbtb7|Zbtb7]]" was formerly known as the "'''POK''' '''e'''rythroid '''m'''yeloid '''on'''togenic factor", which was often shortened to [[Pokémon]]. Pokemon USA naturally threatened to sue, as they didn't want Pokemon to be associated with the gene that may be the trigger for ''cancer'', of all things.
▲* '''B'''eginner's '''A'''ll-purpose '''S'''ymbolic '''I'''nstruction '''C'''ode.
▲* '''B'''erkeley '''O'''pen '''I'''nfrastructure for '''N'''etwork '''C'''omputing (a framework used for SETI@Home and other distributed computing projects), presumably a reference to the [[Calvin and Hobbes]] collection ''Scientific Progress Goes "Boink"''.
== Other ==
▲* While studying telecommunications, this troper has come up with many names for his practices that have a hidden reference to ''[[The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]]'':
▲** '''H'''amming '''A'''lgorithm '''R'''ecovery '''U'''nit for '''H'''arnessing '''I'''nformation ('''H.A.R.U.H.I.''')
▲** '''M'''odulated '''I'''nput '''K'''eying '''U'''nmodulator for '''R'''adio '''U'''nicasting ('''M.I.K.U.R.U.''')
▲** '''N'''etwork '''A'''ddressing '''G'''ateway '''A'''pplication for '''T'''unneling '''O'''perations ('''N.A.G.A.T.O.''')
▲** '''A'''utomated '''S'''elf-'''A'''ctivated '''K'''illing of '''U'''ser '''R'''equested '''A'''pplications ('''A.S.A.K.U.R.A.'''; [[Knife Nut|emphasis]] [[Girl with Psycho Weapon|on the]] [[Yandere|"killing" part!]])
▲* The eccentric UK pop-science magazine ''New Scientist'' had a laugh at the expense of the Thin Layer Unimorph Driver and Sensor, which is very tenuously acronymised as '''THUNDER'''.
▲* The underwater pipeline that supplied the Mulberry harbours with fuel for the D-Day landings had one of the simplest and most elegant acronyms ever: P.L.U.T.O. ('''P'''ipe '''L'''ines '''U'''nder '''T'''he '''O'''cean.) (Although strictly speaking the English Channel is not an ocean. That's okay, Pluto isn't, strictly speaking, a planet.).
▲* The encryption algorithm '''C'''ipher '''O'''rganized with '''C'''ute '''O'''perations and '''N'''-'''U'''niversal '''T'''ransformation 19'''98''' ('''C.O.C.O.N.U.T. 98''').
▲* The '''R'''emote '''A'''uthentication '''D'''ial '''I'''n '''U'''ser '''S'''ervice ('''R.A.D.I.U.S.''') protocol; its successor is called '''D.I.A.M.E.T.E.R.'''
▲* It's probably coincidental, but there's a town in ''[[The Elder Scrolls]] III: Morrowind'' called Suran, and during the 80's there was a project for a packet-switched radio network called '''Sur'''vivable '''Ra'''dio '''N'''etwork ('''SURAN''').
{{reflist}}
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