Acronyms and Shorthand

The first emotional indicators in newsgroups and e-mail were acronyms designed to give readers clues to the attitude and intent of the sender. Acronyms also quickly developed as keyboarding shortcuts. Use of acronyms is particularly prevalent in instant messaging, primarily to maintain the pace of real-time conversation.

Acronyms

Text	Meaning
AAMOF	as a matter of fact
AAR	at any rate
ADN	any day now
AFAIK	as far as I know
AFK	away from keyboard
AFKBRB	away from keyboard, be right back
ASAP	as soon as possible
A/S/L	age/sex/location
B2W	back to work
B4N (or BFN)	bye for now
BAK	back at keyboard
BBL	be back later
BBS	be back soon
BCNU	be seeing you
BF (or B/F)	boyfriend
BMN	but maybe not
BRB	be right back
BTDT	been there, done that
BTDTBTT	been there, done that, bought the tape
BTDTGTTS	been there, done that, got the t-shirt
BTDTGTTSAWIO	been there, done that, got the t-shirt, and wore it out
BTW	by the way
BYKT	but you knew that
CIO	cut it out
CMIIW	correct me if I’m wrong
CU (or CYA)	see you
CUL (or CUL8R)	see you later
DIY	do it yourself
DYJHIW	don’t you just hate it when
EAK	eating at keyboard
EOL	end of lecture
EOM	end of message
F2F (or FTF)	face to face
FAPP	for all practical purposes
FOFL (or FOTFL)	falling on the floor laughing
FTR	for the record
FWIW	for what it’s worth
FYA	for your amusement
FYEO	for your eyes only
FYI	for your information
g (or <g>)	grin
G (or <G>)	big grin
G2G (or GTG)	got to go
GAL	get a life
GD&H	grinning, ducking, and hiding
GD&R	grinning, ducking, and running
GD&RVVF	grinning, ducking, and running, very, very fast
GF (or G/F)	girlfriend
GG	gotta go (or good game)
GIWIST	gee, I wish I said that
GMTA	great minds think alike
GoAT	go away, troll
HAK	hugs and kisses
HAGD	have a great day
HAND	have a nice day
HEH	a courtesy laugh
HHOS	ha-ha, only serious
HTH	hope this helps (or hope that helps)
IAE	in any event
HW	homework (or hardware)
IANAL	I am not a lawyer
IC	I see
ICBW	I could be wrong (or it could be worse)
IDTS	I don’t think so
IINM	if I’m not mistaken
IIRC	if I recall correctly
IIUC	if I understand correctly
IMCO	in my considered opinion
IME	in my experience
IMHO	in my humble opinion
IMNSHO	in my not-so-humble opinion
IMO	in my opinion
IOW	in other words
IRL	in real life
ISTM	it seems to me
ISWYM	I see what you mean
ITRW	in the real world
J (or <J>)	joking
JC	just chillin’
JIC	just in case
JK (or J/K)	just kidding (or that was a joke)
JTYWTK	just thought you wanted to know
JW	just wondering
K	okay
KWIM	know what I mean?
L (or <L>)	laughing
L8R	later
LJBF	let’s just be friends
LOL	laughing out loud
LTNS	long time no see
MHBFY	my heart bleeds for you
MHOTY	my hat’s off to you
MOTAS	member of the appropriate sex
MOTD	message of the day
MYOB	mind your own business
NBD	no big deal
NBIF	no basis in fact
NOYB	none of your business
NP	no problem
NRN	no response necessary (or no reply necessary)
OIC	oh, I see
OM	oh my (or old man, as in husband)
OOI	out of interest
OOTB	out of the box
OTL	out to lunch
OTOH	on the other hand
OTTH	on the third hand
PAW	parents are watching
PC	politically correct
PDA	public display of affection
PEST	please excuse slow typing
PI (or PIC)	politically incorrect
PKB (or P/K/B)	pot, kettle, black (or pot calling the kettle black)
PMBI	pardon my butting in
PMFJI	pardon me for jumping in
POS	parent over shoulder (or parents over shoulder)
POV	point of view
PPL	people
PTB	powers that be
R (or r)	are
REHI	re-hello (following a short time away)(or hi again)
RFC	request for comment
RL	real life
ROTFL	rolling on the floor laughing
ROTFLOL	rolling on the floor laughing out loud
RSN	real soon now
S (or <S>)	smile
SCNR	sorry, could not resist
SITD	still in the dark
SOP	standard operating procedure
SPMD	some people may differ
SUP	what’s up?
TBE	to be expected
THX (or TX)	thanks
TIA	thanks in advance
TANJ	there ain’t no justice
TIC	tongue-in-cheek
TPHB	the pointy-haired boss
TPTB	the powers that be
TTBOMK	to the best of my knowledge
TTFN	ta-ta for now
TTYL	talk to you later
TVM	thanks very much
TVMIA	thanks very much in advance
TYVMIA	thank you very much in advance
U	you
UW	you’re welcome
VBG (or <VBG>)	very big grin
WB	welcome back
WCD	what’s cookin’ doc?
WHBT	we have been trolled
WOA	work of art
WRT	with regard to (or with respect to)
WTG	way to go
WTH	what the heck?
Y (or <Y>)	yawning
YHBT	you have been told (or you have been trolled)
YHBW	you have been warned
YHGMTPOTG	you have greatly misinterpreted the purpose of this group
YHM	you have mail
YMMV	your mileage may vary
YOYO	you’re on your own
YWSYLS	you win some, you lose some