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chat/IRC/BBS abbreviations and acronyms
For the funny little faces made with keyboard characters, see emoticon.
Usage note: Chat abbreviations that describe emotions are typically
typed within less-than and greater-than symbols (for example, <BG> for
"big grin"). Chat abbreviations that represent shorthand for sentences
or phrases, such as "BBL" for "Be back later" are not
usually typed within these symbols. Since some of these phrases happen to denote
emotions, this usage rule can easily be violated.
| 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 |
| 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) |
| 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 |
| FOAD |
F*** off and die (used during flaming) |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| HAND |
Have a nice day |
| HTH |
Hope this helps |
| IAC |
In any case |
| IANAL |
I am not a lawyer (but) |
| IC |
I see |
| IHA |
I hate acronyms |
| IIRC |
If I recall/remember/recollect correctly |
| ILU or ILY |
I love you |
| IM |
Immediate 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 (that is, when not chatting) |
| IYSWIM |
If you see what I mean |
| JBOD |
Just a bunch of disks (like RAID,
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 |
| LOL |
Laughing out loud |
| LRF |
Little Rubber Feet (the little pads on the bottom of displays and
other equipment) |
| LTM |
Laugh to myself |
| LTNS |
Long time no see |
| 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 |
| 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 |
Piece of s**t |
| 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 (or ROFL) |
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) |
| SEG |
S***-eating grin |
| SF |
Surfer-friendly (low-graphics Web site) |
| SNAFU |
Situation normal, all f***ed up |
| SO |
Significant other |
| 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 |
| 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. |
This page was suggested by Tom "Sky" King with
additional contributions from Bill Bailey, Garry Beaty, Rohan Beckett, Blip, Dan
Brennan, Britney, Seth Caldwell, Steve Coile, Eric Danneels, Andrew Drummond,
Heather Ekey, Chris Frezza, Ron Good, Tim Gossman, Chris Grabenstein, Loren
Guerra, Madeleine Guggenaster, Christopher Hemminghaus, Josh Jones, Tim Joyce,
Paul Kassal, Susan M. King, Jacob Lewis, Julia Lloyd, Sally Martin, Ben Mason,
Max Matthews, Meagan, Laura Mosko, Lindsay Musko, Ed Odom, Franziska Paul, Ruth
Sochard Pitt, James Ponder, Terence J. Quigley, Francis N. Quinn, Laird Rice,
Matthew Rohn, Steven Savage, Dustin Schieve, Wayne Shaffer, Jr., Ran Shenhar,
Sheryl, Mike Siekkinen, William Slater, Simon Smith, Jerry Taylor, Miles Ung,
Frank Voldness, Barry G. Ward, Bill Wilson, and Brian Wilson.
Last updated on January 22, 2000.
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