ASAP, BRB, TTYL — we’re all guilty of rushing our communications and shortening frequently used phrases. But sometimes an abbreviation becomes so ubiquitous that it replaces a full word or phrase, and almost no one remembers the original usage. Some of the terms you use every day started out as acronyms before they became accepted common vocabulary words. Make sure to RSVP for this language lesson as we decipher some of the most common acronyms and abbreviations hiding in plain sight.
You can’t get your SCUBA certification without learning this acronym. It means “self-contained underwater breathing apparatus,” which is a pretty straightforward description of the equipment and the activity.
This one originated in a pulp fiction series. It stands for “Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle,” both the name of a 1911 book, and the series’ main character and his weapon. The electric rifle and the modern taser differ in functionality, but it’s interesting to examine how sci-fi predictions and inventions have turned up in reality. The 1970s word “taser” was inspired by Tom Swift, and patterned on “laser.”
Lots of technological terms are acronyms, and for good reason. A long string of words isn’t always easy to remember, and a random letter mashup isn’t either. Industry jargon tends to create pronounceable words out of the abbreviations: “RADAR” stands for “radio detection and ranging.”
Similar to “RADAR,” “SONAR” refers to a type of ranging. Instead of radio detection, it uses sound to navigate. “SONAR” stands for “sound navigation ranging.”
Be happy “LASER” goes by the acronym and not the full name: “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.” As with “taser,” “radar,” and “sonar,” “laser” is now commonly used as a regular word, not just as the acronym.
You might send these types of parcels because you care, but that’s not what they’re named for. “CARE” stands for “Cooperative for American Remittances,” an organization that helped send packages from Americans to their friends and family in Europe after World War II. The original CARE packages contained macaroni, cornmeal, Carnation chocolate drink mix, and dried milk.
No, smart cars weren’t named for their genius capabilities. The acronym “smart” (styled in the lowercase) stands for “Swatch Mercedes Art.” It’s a pretty big name for such a tiny car, but that’s the name Swatch and Daimler Benz agreed on for their collaboration.
It sounds exactly like what it was created to do — capture. The “completely automated public Turing test to tell computers and humans apart” was always intended to be an acronym, and it’s a lot less work than saying the whole thing.
Yes, even search engines and company names are acronyms. This one is “Yet Another Hierarchically Officious Oracle.” (The exclamation point was added for trademark differentiation, but also serves as branding.) This tech conglomerate is still hanging on, but its overly long name doesn’t mean much anymore.
There’s not a canola plant, but you can still find this all-purpose cooking oil in many pantries. It comes from the rapeseed plant, but that’s a loaded name to sell at the grocery store. Canadian scientists made the rapeseed oil better suited for cooking, and now you can purchase “Canada oil, low acid.”
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