Fun with Acronyms/Real Life: Difference between revisions

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* [[Our Elves Are Better|ELF]], the '''E'''xecutable and '''L'''inkable '''F'''ormat, a common standard file format for executables, object code, shared libraries, and core dumps.

** Which was created along with its debugging data format called [[Our Dwarves Are All the Same|DWARF]], '''D'''ebugging '''W'''ith '''A'''ttributed '''R'''ecord '''F'''ormats.

* 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.

* 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.

* The '''W'''orld '''H'''ealth '''O'''rganization is a rather high-profile example.

* MILF - '''M'''other '''I''''d '''L'''ike to '''F'''uck.

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* '''S'''ouvenir '''A'''nd '''N'''ovelty '''T'''rade '''A'''ssociation.

* Subversion: During the [[Cold War]], the US kept an airborne command center ready to take off with the President at moment's notice in the event of a [[Earthshattering Kaboom|Global Thermonuclear War.]] This '''N'''ational '''E'''mergency '''A'''irborne '''C'''ommand '''P'''ost had the unpronounceable acronym '''NEACP''', but quickly became unofficially known as 'Kneecap'...

* As readers of Eric Flint's ''[[~~Sixteen Thirty Two|~~1632]]'' novels well know, the 17th-century King Gustav Adolf II of Sweden frequently disguised himself as a commoner to live and work among his people, using the name "Gars": '''G'''ustavus '''A'''dolphus, '''R'''ex '''S'''ueciae (Latin for Gustav Adolf, King of the Swedes). Which makes Gustavus Adolphus GAR [[Reverse Funny Aneurysm|before GAR became]] [[Memetic Mutation|a meme]].

* As readers of Eric Flint's ''[[1632]]'' novels well know, the 17th-century King Gustav Adolf II of Sweden frequently disguised himself as a commoner to live and work among his people, using the name "Gars": '''G'''ustavus '''A'''dolphus, '''R'''ex '''S'''ueciae (Latin for Gustav Adolf, King of the Swedes). Which makes Gustavus Adolphus GAR [[Reverse Funny Aneurysm|before GAR became]] [[Memetic Mutation|a meme]].

* And this entry could not be complete without the U.S. Navy's '''C'''ommander '''In''' '''C'''hief - '''U'''nited '''S'''tates Fleet ('''C.In.C.U.S.''', which sounds like "sink us"). The position's name was changed to '''ComInCH''' almost immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

* The names for the Jeep and the Humvee are thought to be a pronounciation of GP ('''G'''eneral '''P'''urpose) and HMMWV ('''H'''igh '''M'''obility '''M'''ultipurpose '''W'''heeled '''V'''ehicle). (The British Forces slang term "Gimpy" (pronounced 'jimpy') is known to be a pronunciation of GPMG ('''G'''eneral '''P'''urpose '''M'''achine '''G'''un), so this makes some sense).

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*** Of course, SOHCAHTOA is also backronymed: '''S'''ex '''O'''n '''H'''ard '''C'''oncrete '''A'''lways '''H'''urts '''T'''ry '''O'''ut '''A'''lternatives.

*** '''S'''ome '''O'''ld '''H'''ippy '''C'''aught '''A'''nother '''H'''ippy '''T'''ripping '''O'''n '''Acid'''

*** [[The World Ends With You ~~(Video Game)~~|Some Old Horses Can Always Hear Their Owner Approach]]

*** [[The World Ends With You|Some Old Horses Can Always Hear Their Owner Approach]]

**** '''S'''hould '''O'''ld '''H'''arry '''C'''atch '''A''' '''H'''erring '''T'''rawling '''O'''ff '''A'''merica

** In Spain, schools use the word PATINARÁN ("they will skate") to help children remember the five oceans from largest to smallest: '''P'''acífico, '''AT'''lántico, '''ÍN'''dico, '''ÁR'''tico and '''AN'''tártico.

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* The TV channel UKTV Gold was renamed G.O.L.D., which apparently stands for '''G'''o '''O'''n, '''L'''augh '''D'''aily.

* There is always the '''O'''ffice of '''N'''aval '''I'''ntelligence.

** Although at first glance this appears to be an Oxymoron, it gets funnier if you know that an "[[Red Oni Blue Oni|Oni]]" is a Japanese ogre known for wielding giant iron clubs.

** Although at first glance this appears to be an Oxymoron, it gets funnier if you know that an "[[Red Oni, Blue Oni|Oni]]" is a Japanese ogre known for wielding giant iron clubs.

* The name of the USA PATRIOT Act stood for '''U'''niting and '''S'''trengthening '''A'''merica by '''P'''roviding '''A'''ppropriate '''T'''ools '''R'''equired to '''I'''ntercept and '''O'''bstruct '''T'''errorism '''A'''ct". [[Super Fun Happy Thing of Doom|The act's primary effect was to increase the government's wiretap and surveillance powers.]]

** Richard Stallman repurposed the acronym as the U SAP AT RIOT Act.

** The government's been doing this a lot lately. Since then we've had the '''America C'''reating '''O'''pportunities to '''M'''eaningfully '''P'''romote '''E'''xcellence in '''T'''echnology, '''E'''ducation, and '''S'''cience Act of 2007 and the '''D'''evelopment, '''R'''elief and '''E'''ducation for '''A'''lien '''M'''inors Act of 2010 (though the latter didn't pass the Senate).

** [http://www.economist.com/blogs/johnson/2011/11/legislative-titles This Economist blog post] contains a list of American laws that have [[Fun ~~With~~ Acronyms]]. AYUDA, anyone?

** [http://www.economist.com/blogs/johnson/2011/11/legislative-titles This Economist blog post] contains a list of American laws that have [[Fun with Acronyms]]. AYUDA, anyone?

* An unfortunate one: '''N'''ASA '''E'''ducation '''R'''esources '''D'''irector.

* The '''F'''isherman's '''I'''nformation '''B'''ureau. "It was this big! Really!"

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** At the University of California, Berkeley, there is a student organization that used to be called the '''C'''alifornia '''I'''nvestment '''A'''ssociation. In 2009, they changed their name to '''B'''erkeley '''I'''nvestment '''G'''roup.

* The '''D'''efense '''R'''esearch and '''E'''ngineering '''N'''etwork. (Hint: Read it backwards.)

** Unless you're a ''[[~~Farscape (TV)|~~Farscape]]'' fan, [[Unusual Euphemism|in which case...]]

** Unless you're a ''[[Farscape]]'' fan, [[Unusual Euphemism|in which case...]]

* eBay used to deal with certain problems through its '''S'''afe '''H'''arbor '''I'''nvestigations '''T'''eam

* "'''[[The ~~Hitchhikers~~ Guide to ~~The~~ Galaxy|ZAPHOD]]'''" to "'''Z'''eta '''A'''rtifical '''P'''eacekeeping and '''H'''azardous '''O'''bservation '''D'''evice".

* "'''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy|ZAPHOD]]'''" to "'''Z'''eta '''A'''rtifical '''P'''eacekeeping and '''H'''azardous '''O'''bservation '''D'''evice".

* From computational fluid dynamics, the '''A'''dvection '''U'''pstream '''S'''plitting '''M'''ethod and its variants (yes, it's pronounced like [[What Do You Mean Its Not Awesome|that]]). It's a flux function that can be used in '''M'''onotone '''U'''pstream-centered '''S'''chemes for '''C'''onservation '''L'''aws, and has been used in codes together with a library called the '''S'''tructured '''A'''daptive '''M'''esh '''R'''efinement '''A'''pplication '''I'''nfrastructure...

* Giving Transformers fans amusement is the fact that there's a real-life NEST organization - the '''N'''uclear '''E'''mergency '''S'''upport '''T'''eam.

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* '''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"''.

* Aversion: New Zealand [[Visual Effects of Awesome]] powerhouse '''[[The Lord of the Rings (~~Film~~)|W]] [[King Kong|E]] [[District 9 ~~(Film)~~|T]] [[Avatar (~~Film~~)|A]]''' Workshop doesn't stand for anything except [[wikipedia:Weta|the freakishly huge cricket]] it's named after. [[Word of God]] is they tried to have fun with it and got as far as "''''W'''ellington [the city they're based in] '''E'''ffects and '''T'''echnical...' and then we drew a blank!"

* Aversion: New Zealand [[Visual Effects of Awesome]] powerhouse '''[[The Lord of the Rings (film)|W]] [[King Kong|E]] [[District 9|T]] [[Avatar (film)|A]]''' Workshop doesn't stand for anything except [[wikipedia:Weta|the freakishly huge cricket]] it's named after. [[Word of God]] is they tried to have fun with it and got as far as "''''W'''ellington [the city they're based in] '''E'''ffects and '''T'''echnical...' and then we drew a blank!"

* The [[As Long As It Sounds Foreign|African-sounding]] WGASA train at the San Diego Wild Animal Park is actually shorthand for '''W'''ho '''G'''ives '''A''' '''S'''hit '''A'''nyway, which was written on a memo after no one could come up with a name for the train. Apparently whoever decided to use it knew what the word "wgasa" meant and almost got in trouble for it too, at least according to Snopes. They named it that sort of as a joke and because they couldn't think of anything else. To save face, the zoo came out with the hastily-created backronym "World's Greatest Animal Show Anywhere".

* The [[As Long as It Sounds Foreign|African-sounding]] WGASA train at the San Diego Wild Animal Park is actually shorthand for '''W'''ho '''G'''ives '''A''' '''S'''hit '''A'''nyway, which was written on a memo after no one could come up with a name for the train. Apparently whoever decided to use it knew what the word "wgasa" meant and almost got in trouble for it too, at least according to Snopes. They named it that sort of as a joke and because they couldn't think of anything else. To save face, the zoo came out with the hastily-created backronym "World's Greatest Animal Show Anywhere".

* Everyone knows that we're in the Middle East fighting a war for '''O'''peration '''I'''raqi '''<s> L</s>'''<s>iberation</s> '''''F'''reedom!'' (currently called Operation New Dawn).

* The proposed Mars scout mission called '''ARES''' ('''A'''real '''R'''egional-scale '''E'''nvironmental '''S'''urvey of Mars) [[Don't Explain the Joke|is funny because Ares is the Greek name for the god of war, in Latin known as Mars]].

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* The first deployed solar sail: '''I'''nterplanetary '''K'''ite-craft '''A'''ccelerated by '''R'''adiation '''O'''f the '''S'''un. [[Tempting Fate|Ikaros is the Greek spelling of Icarus (which is Latin).]]

* There's a further education facility in '''T'''ralee, called the '''I'''nstitute of '''T'''echnology. Strangely, they always refer to it as the Institute of Technology, Tralee.

* The [[~~Chess (Tabletop Game)|~~Chess]] player Mike Surtees has developed his own, somewhat non-standard, ideas as to what constitutes a good way to play the first few moves of the game. His name for these ideas as a whole? '''R'''evolutionary '''O'''pening '''T'''heory.

* The [[Chess]] player Mike Surtees has developed his own, somewhat non-standard, ideas as to what constitutes a good way to play the first few moves of the game. His name for these ideas as a whole? '''R'''evolutionary '''O'''pening '''T'''heory.

* '''T'''ogether '''E'''verybody '''A'''chieves '''M'''ore.

** In german, you get '''T'''oll, '''e'''in '''a'''nderer '''m'''acht's. (Great, someone else will do it)

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* There's a Nigerian terrorist organization rather wittily (and ironically) named the "'''M'''ovement for the '''E'''mancipation of the '''N'''iger '''D'''elta." Only, they're less about ''MENDing'' things and more about blowing stuff to pieces.

* The United States has the Tea Party, a political movement protesting government spending (named after a similar protest related to the nation's founding). In at least one place, someone has asked "Haven't we been '''T'''axed '''E'''nough '''A'''lready?"

* '''[[The End of the World As We Know It|TEOTWAWKI]]'''.

* '''[[The End of the World as We Know It|TEOTWAWKI]]'''.

* The use of "wasp" as a slur is based on an acronym, '''W'''hite '''A'''nglo-'''S'''axon '''P'''rotestant.

* An in-development combat medic/rescue automaton. As [http://www.cracked.com/article_18883_6-new-weapons-that-are-making-war-look-like-cartoon.html an article] for Cracked.com put it:

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** Which is silly, because we all know what WTF means: {{spoiler|World Taekwondo Federation}}

* NASA once launched a probe to study the planet Mercury called the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging orbiter, or MESSENGER. Appropriate for the planet named for [[Classical Mythology|the messenger of the gods]].

* In many cases, this is also [[Fun ~~With~~ Foreign Languages]]. For example, Spanish-speakers who used Oracle's '''A'''dvanced '''N'''etworking '''O'''ption would have lot of jokes to make. [http://www.cs.umbc.edu/portal/help/oracle8.bak/network803/A53746_01/ch7.htm The manual] is [[Hilarity Ensues|practical enough]].

* In many cases, this is also [[Fun with Foreign Languages]]. For example, Spanish-speakers who used Oracle's '''A'''dvanced '''N'''etworking '''O'''ption would have lot of jokes to make. [http://www.cs.umbc.edu/portal/help/oracle8.bak/network803/A53746_01/ch7.htm The manual] is [[Hilarity Ensues|practical enough]].

* The United States Navy '''SE'''a, '''A'''ir and '''L'''and Teams.

* [[wikipedia:Eliezer Ben Yehuda|Eliezer Ben-Yehuda]] (אליעזר בן־יהודה, "Eliezer [[I Am X Son of Y|son-of]] Yehuda") was the codifier of [[wikipedia:Modern Israeli Hebrew|Modern Israeli Hebrew]]. His son, [[wikipedia:Itamar Ben-Avi|Itamar Ben-Avi]] (איתמר בן אב"י, "Itamar son-of Alef-Bet-Yod") was the first native-born speaker of this variety of Hebrew. His surname Avi was a Hebrew acronym of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda's Hebrew initials א-ב-י. Simultaneously, the word "avi" (also spelled אבי) is Hebrew for "my-father", making Itamar "son-of my-father".

* [[wikipedia:Eliezer Ben Yehuda|Eliezer Ben-Yehuda]] (אליעזר בן־יהודה, "Eliezer [[I Am X, Son of Y|son-of]] Yehuda") was the codifier of [[wikipedia:Modern Israeli Hebrew|Modern Israeli Hebrew]]. His son, [[wikipedia:Itamar Ben-Avi|Itamar Ben-Avi]] (איתמר בן אב"י, "Itamar son-of Alef-Bet-Yod") was the first native-born speaker of this variety of Hebrew. His surname Avi was a Hebrew acronym of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda's Hebrew initials א-ב-י. Simultaneously, the word "avi" (also spelled אבי) is Hebrew for "my-father", making Itamar "son-of my-father".

* A long standing joke in the naval services is that ''Marines'' stands for '''M'''y '''A'''ss '''R'''ides '''I'''n '''N'''avy '''E'''quipment '''S'''ir.

* PETA, depending on who you ask, means either '''P'''eople for '''E'''thical '''T'''reatment of '''A'''nimals or '''P'''eople '''E'''ating '''T'''asty '''A'''nimals.

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* CAMiLEON: '''C'''reative '''A'''rchiving at '''Mi'''chigan and '''L'''eeds: '''E'''mulating the '''O'''ld and the '''N'''ew. And yes, they were deliberately going for "chameleon".

* [[Microsoft]]'s certifications. After you pass the exam, you're listed as a '''M'''icrosoft '''C'''ertified '''P'''rofessional. Worth a chuckle if you recall ''[[Tron]]'''s [[Big Bad|Master Control Program]].

* Actor [[Robin Atkin Downes]]' initials are RAD. Which he [[Hey ~~Its~~ That Voice|certainly]] [[Man of a Thousand Voices|is]].

* Actor [[Robin Atkin Downes]]' initials are RAD. Which he [[Hey, It's That Voice!|certainly]] [[Man of a Thousand Voices|is]].

* Some institutes go by the unfortunate acronym UTI, which also stands for Urinary Tract Infection. There's also a lot of middle schools with the acronym [[Menstrual Menace|PMS]].

* In California there is the Santa Clarita United Methodist Church. Their website? '''SCUMC.com'''

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* [[Yahoo]] Yet Another Highly Organized Oracle

* While [[SBS]] is officially an acronym of '''S'''pecial '''B'''roadcasting '''S'''ervice, in the mid-2000s they devised a backronym that's been at the centre of their promotional material ever since: '''S'''ix '''B'''illion '''S'''tories (and counting...). [[Memetic Mutation|Alternatively]], '''S'''ex and '''B'''loody '''S'''occer.

* [[Urban Legend~~|Urban legend~~]] claims a Texas school was nearly named the '''S'''am '''H'''ouston '''I'''nstitute of '''T'''echnology (or '''T'''eaching).

* [[Urban Legend]] claims a Texas school was nearly named the '''S'''am '''H'''ouston '''I'''nstitute of '''T'''echnology (or '''T'''eaching).

* In British medical terminology (at least in the GUM field) there's '''U'''n'''p'''rotected '''S'''exual '''I'''ntercourse

* When the weekly [[wikipedia:Premium Bond|Premium Bond]] prize draw was introduced in Britain in the 1950s the winning numbers were selected by the quaintly-named ERNIE ('''E'''lectronic '''R'''andon '''N'''umber '''I'''ndicator '''E'''quipment). The machine has been replaced several times but the name has stuck.