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acronyms and abbreviations

free acronyms and abbreviations finder and definitions - business, training, medical, military, technical, funny - acronyms, backronyms and abbreviations meanings

Depending on your standpoint, some of these acronyms might be considered 'politically incorrect', including a few which could be interpreted to be rude or offensive.

As such be careful how and where you use them.

And if you are easily offended please don't read the page.

This free acronyms and abbreviations finder is a dictionary of useful acronyms and abbreviations for training, learning, teaching, etc. This collection is also a study in language and communications. This acronyms list contains acronyms and abbreviations, and 'backronyms' (acronyms constructed restrospectively to fit a word), with origins in the armed forces, healthcare, IT and various other business and training fields, including funny lifestyle and social acronyms and abbreviations.

The acronyms and abbreviations in this listing can therefore be used for various purposes: for simple amusement; for finding unknown meanings; for illustrating and emphasising points that you wish to make in training or speaking or presentations; and for examples of how language and expressions develop and evolve. Whatever, acronyms and abbreviations add colour and texture to the written and spoken word, and to life in general. They are a fascinating reflection of the development of communications, language and social attitudes.

Strictly speaking, acronyms are words formed from the abbreviations of others, but as you'll see, many of these acronyms aren't words at all, and even some of the best known acronyms like LASER and RADAR have bent the acronym rules.

'backronyms' ('bacronyms')

Some acronyms, usually amusing and ironic, are formed in reverse, ie., by starting with a word, especially a brand name, treating it as an acronym, and finding words to fit each of the letters, for example the acronyms ACRONYM and YAHOO. The amusing term for these types of acronyms is 'backronyms' (or 'bacronyms'). Bacronym is a portmanteau word (in this case combining the words 'back' and 'acronym'). Backronyms feature strongly in the acronyms created from aviation and airlines and automotive and car make names, and in corporate name backronyms such as DIAGEO. The device is not new, as seen in the old GWR interpretation. Two notable and quite different examples of bacronyms being used to positive effect are ASDA and PIG. Bacronyms are created as hoax explanations for the origins of certain swear words.

acronyms and abbreviations

Acronyms, whether true acronyms or not, and abbreviations, add colour, fun and interest to our language, and thereby they act as mnemonics, or memory devices. Many technical and process-related acronyms and abbreviations greatly assist in memory retention and learning.

Many acronyms and abbreviations when used properly can certainly enhance communications, because they act as 'short-hand' and therefore increase the efficiency of communications; in other words, more meaning is conveyed in less time and fewer words.

Many acronyms and abbreviations are also motivational and inspirational for training, because they contain a special theme, and because the acronym or abbreviation itself is a mnemonic device (a memory aid). Some of these acronyms and abbreviations originated as far back as the 1940s (notably the 2nd World War), and a few probably the early 1900s (notably the 1st World War). Many other abbreviations listed here are far more recent. Many older acronyms provide fascinating examples of the development of language and changing cultural attitudes. Latterly similar dark and cynical humour is evidenced in the development of acronyms and abbreviations relating to the field of customer service, especially in the contexts of IT and healthcare, for which an additional healthcare acronyms listing appears below separately, due to its richness and diversity.... Also, increasingly, lifestyle groupings and demographics profiles are providing fertile subject matter for acronyms, and again, a separate listing of lifestyle and demographics acronyms appears below.

When using acronyms and abbreviations for serious and intentionally open communications ensure that definitions and meanings are understood or explained, or the acronym defeats its own purpose. It's advisable that if using acronyms in reports and other important communications, such as instructions, manuals, procedures, and training materials, you should include a glossary of acronyms and abbreviations, which hopefully enables the audience to understand the meanings involved.

Automotive acronyms (actually these are 'backronyms', since they are retrospective constructions), lifestyle/demographics profiles acronyms and healthcare acronyms are listed in separate sections below. Some of these acronyms and 'backronyms' also appear with more details and explanations in the main acronyms listing.

acronyms and abbreviations main listing

acronyms, abbreviations, menmonics, bacronyms for learning and amusement

A3

Any time, Any place, Anywhere. Popular texting abbreviation (ack J Lewis). The expression actually originated from a 1960s/70s Martini TV advert in which the song went: Any time, any place, anywhere, There's a magical world we can share (??), It's the right one, it's the bright one, It's (Thats ?) Martini... Other variations of lyrics following the opening line were used in more recent years (It's a new world, Me and you girl..). Suggestions on a postcard please as to the original words (and ad agency, composer, etc), and later versions. The word Martini in the context of media has now assumed an amusing additional modern meaning, referring to mobile and on-demand communications and media, and is also used as an ironic reference to someone exhibiting particularly flexible or pragmatic tendencies, especially politicians who pander to views and support for personal advantage above ethical considerations.

A2O

Apples To Oranges. Acronym to highlight any inappropriate comparison; a modern shorthand for 'chalk and cheese'.

A2HS

Age, Build, Clothes, Distinguishing marks, Elevation, Face, Gait, Hair, Sex. Acronym used by UK armed forces and services staff for identifying people involved in incidents or crime.

AAA

Alive, Alert, Aggressive. One of very many triple-A acronyms. Somewhat macho but catchy nevertheless, and not a bad rallying call for self or team in a variety of situations (visit to the dentist, disaster de-debriefing with scary CEO, public speaking pep-talk, etc.) Apparently originated in the Seal Cove fishing community on Grand Manan Island in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick... (Ack G Myers) And by way of extending the theme:

AAAA

Association Against Acronym Abuse. (Ack P Vallee).

ABC

Always Be Closing. Traditional selling process acronym which emphasises the need to be continually moving the customer towards action and agreement within sales discussions (ack T Rowe). ABC (along with ABC1) also refers to the JICNARS demographics system of social grades classifications.

ABCD

Above and Beyond the Call of Duty. Whether this acronym originated in the armed services is not clear. These days it is just as applicable to the civilian work environment, and particularly the need to ensure a healthy work-life-balance. A reminder also for all managers and corporations that people who go the extra mile, beyond normal expectations, are to be treasured and suitably rewarded, not exploited. (ack T Rowe)

ACRONYM

Abbreviated Coded Rendition Of Name Yielding Meaning. Fine example of the 'backronym' art and very apt for near top of the list. Great for dinner parties and smart-asses. (Ack. Ralph Johnston.)

ACRONYMS

Absurdly Contrived Representations Of Names Yielding Mass Stupefication. As above.. (Ack A Brady)

ACORN

A Classification Of Residential Neighbourhoods. Acronym for the CACI Ltd research organization's system of demographics classifications, used for consumer marketing in the UK. More about ACORN and other demographics classifications. In the US, ACORN also stands for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, which claims to be the USA's largest community organization representing low-income and moderate-income families, "...working together for social justice and stronger communities..."

ADDIE

Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation. The process of innovation, any field at all. Deviate from it at your peril. (Ack. Don Clark)

ADIDAS

All Day I Dream About Sex/All Day I Dream About Shoes. Perhaps the best of the wonderful ADIDAS backronyms (Thanks respectively PF and S Morissette). There are more and weirder ones in the ADIDAS entry in corporanyms section. If you have others to share feel free to send them. These backronyms are not a reference to the Adidas company, merely wordplay using the name.

AEOBE

... Overcome/Overtaken By Events? (or maybe ... Or Be Eaten?) It's a mystery. If you know please contact us.This seems to be a US armed forces acronym from WWII. See the pictures, kindly provided by Lorna. The picture is on a wall in a house in Liverpool, left by US troops billeted there in the Second World War. The AEOBE acronym is on the left breast of the soldier aiming the catapult. On the front of the Jeep the acronym SNAFU can be seen above the radiator grille. Thanks Lorna for these lovely pictures, and C Yates and R Reid for the suggestions that the last three letters possibly/probably stand for Overcome By Events/Overtaken By Events. OBE is seemingly used in this way in US Defense and US Defense contracting, referring to plans or situations rendered obsolete for the reason implied. Apparently novelist Tom Clancy has used the term in this context. Alternatively perhaps the fork and spoon are clues? Maybe Attack Enemy Or Be Eaten (ack T Baldridge) or perhaps Always Eat Or Be Eaten (ack P Mead). Who knows?

AEIOU DDD

Apoplexy, Epilepsy, Injury, Opium or other drugs, Uraemia, Dead Drunk and Diabetes. Medical acronym and useful mnemonic for remembering the different possible diagnoses of unconsciousness. (Ack Dr Duffield)

AFLO

Another Flipping Learning Opportunity. A big mistake or onerous task. (Ack JC)

AFOL

All Fine On Leaving. (ODSA) Nurses abbreviation on patient notes.

AFTO

Ask For The Order. The 'psychological imperative' and one of the most important rules of selling, despite which, millions of sales people usually forget it.

AGA

Acute Gravity Attack. (ODSA) In other words, the patient fell over, from Nova Scotia orthopaedics and no doubt used elsewhere. See also PAFO. (Ack KP)

AHOYA

Asshole Of The Year Award. From the consumer electrical equipment repair industry, although widely applicable elsewhere. An amusing acronym which all decent folk can privately enjoy when faced with irrational, threatening, anti-social behaviour and those exhibiting it, be they ignorant customers, bullying bosses, or aggressive next-door-neighbours, etc. (ack PM Christian)

AIDA

Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. If your sales, advertising or any effort designed to motivate others to action doesn't follow this sequence it won't succeed. Also extended version AIDCA - the 'C' is for Commitment or Conviction (on the part of the customer or audience). Also known as the Hierarchy of Effects, but HOE doesn't have quite the same ring as AIDA.

AKA

Also Known As. An remarkable acronym that's now so well established that it's virtually become a word, and certainly requires no reference to the original source words to be immediately understood. Aka is truly up there with the all-time great acronyms like radar, scuba, quango and yuppie.

AKUTA

A Kick Up The Arse/Ass. Motivational method of debatable value and limited use, rarely well timed or utilized (see the Aristotle quote about anger). In any event AKUTA is generally more effective when self-administered.

ALF

Always Listen First. Obviously great for training sessions generally, also counselling, customer service, selling, etc, and relationships overall. (Ack. M Booth)

ALITALIA

Airplane Lands In Turin And Luggage In Ancona. Air travel acronym (strictly speaking a 'backronym' or 'bacronym') for those frustrating lost luggage moments. The metaphor is universal of course, although there would be certain destinations that could substitute and fit perfectly: Turkey, Tangiers, Australia, Alaska, etc. (Ack M Janes) Alternative meaning Always Late In Take-off Always Late In Arrival (Ack Chin). N.B. No offence intended towards Alitalia organization - these terms are generic and for comment on air travel experiences in general. More aviation acronyms are in the airlines acronyms list.

ALO

A Learning Opportunity. Generally something you'd rather not do that someone else has decided will be 'good for you'... (Ack. JC)

AMAT

All Mouth And Trousers. Acronym version of an old English expression. See also BHNC.

AOX3

Alert, Oriented times 3 (person, place, time). Nurses' and doctors shorthand used on patients' notes; this acronym transfers especially well to training sessions, to highlight the characteristics of someone fully alert and aware (and paying attention to the tutor). See also MEGO.

APB

All-Points Bulletin. The classic USA police alert, as featured at least fifty times in every single episode of Hawaii Five-O, Cagney and Lacey, Kojak, Starsky and Hutch....

APE

Attentive, Peripheral, Empathic. The three main types of listening. Empathic listening is the skill of understanding meaning and motive in another's words, a considerably powerful ability.

ARPU

Annualised Revenues Per User. ARPU is a favourite and fundamental financial measure used by the big consumer services corporations, especially the massive global corporations in the broadcast, telephony and internet sectors. ARPU basically represents the average sales or billing value that the corporation is able to extract from each customer in a year. ARPU in the collective and inter-related markets of telephony, entertainment, information, internet connectivity and broadcast is likely to be threatened by the progressive development and availability of free or low-cost technology and content, the growth of which is arguably bound to squeeze the life out of some very large traditional profit-driven corporations now caught between two irresistible market forces: at one end by the free user-based content enabled by the world wide web, and at the other end by free broadband connectivity (and subsequent technologies) enabled by local and national schemes to establish free high-speed big-capacity 'wi-fi' access for everyone, on the basis that such infrastructure is vital for local and national competitiveness. This battle for control of content and internet distribution - now under way - will become one of the defining global issues of the modern age.

ART

Assuming Room Temperature. Paramedic term for the condition of a patient when all hope is gone, ie., dead. Technically only a physician can declare someone dead, so the paramedics use this acronym to get around the protocol, not least when absence of life would be obvious to even a blind gerbil. In this context, 'assuming room temperature' means that since the patient is dead their body is no longer regulating its own temperature and instead is 'assuming the temperature of the ambient'. (Ack T Easton)

ASDA

Age, Site, Depth, Area. This acronym illustrates the immensely useful aspect of the acronym as a teaching and communications device, aside from its value as a branding method. First, ASDA is memorable because it is the name of the UK supermarket chain, now owned by Walmart, but named ASDA in 1965 via the contraction of 'Asquith and Dairies' (not Associated Dairies, as commonly believed). The alternative recent 'bacronym' interpretation is a very clever technical healthcare acronym (ack Paul) used in emergency assessment of burns victims, devised by the Specialist Burns Unit at Whiston Hospital in Merseyside, used by the Merseyside Regional Ambulance service and no doubt elsewhere too. Age = age of patient; Site = where on the body; Depth = depth in mm or superficial/partial thickness/full thickness (redlining of skin/blister/all skin damaged charred); and Area = area of burn, usually given as a percentage of body area according to the ingenious 'rule of nines', a methodology based on proportions, because people are different sizes. The 'rule of nines' divides the body into eleven sections: head, chest, abdomen, upper and lower back, each arm, each thigh and each lower leg. Each section represents 9% of total body area. The balancing 1% is reserved for the genitals, which arguably would constitute the greatest emergency burn of them all. In one acronym we see many different aspects of how we use language and systems to enhance understanding, awareness and procedures. Fascinating.

ASK

Activity, Skills, Knowledge. Super acronym for training and development, especially sales and account management, since these three components are essential for success and productive performance. Arguably the order should be Knowledge, Skills, Activity, as this would be the order of training, but 'SKA' doesn't have quite the same ring. Alternative interpretation especially for roles where activity is reactive rather than proactively motivated, can be Attitude, Skills, Knowledge. (Ack RC)

ASTRO

Always Stating The Really Obvious. Various uses at work and play. Similar to calling a person 'Captain Obvious', which is very amusing as well. See also STBO. (Ack D)

ATNA

All Talk No Action. See also BHNC.

AWOL

Absent Without Leave. Military acronym, which implied a few days in the punishment block for the absconder when apprehended, the expression is now well established in life generally and applied to any missing, lost or wandered-off person or item causing breach of rules or mere inconvenience. An alternative meaning (ack A Gow) of AWOL applies in the healthcare industry as an abbreviation on patients' notes: All Well On Leaving.

AVPU

Alert, Voice, Pain, Unresponsive. First aiders training acronym used in casualty assessment, relating to a victim's level of response: A means Alert; V means responds to Voice; P means responds to Pain; U means Unresponsive, (ack G Chamberlain). AVPU is a descending scale of brain state in which 'alert' is the highest level of conscious control and awareness, down to 'unresponsive', which is effectively unconscious or worse. When a casualty's condition moves down the AVPU scale this logically signifies a deepening affect on the brain. AVPU is a simplification and quick test based on the more complex Glasgow Coma Scale, devised by neurosurgery professors Graham Teasdale and Bryan Jennett of Glasgow University in 1974 (thanks G Wylie). Less conventionally the AVPU acronym might also be used as an interesting and amusing reference point in discussing or illustrating the 'fight or fight' unconscious reaction experienced in highly stressful situations such as public speaking, in which the higher levels or outer layers of the brain are temporarily shut down or over-ridden by the deeper parts of the brain associated with fundamental survival and bodily function.

AWTF

Away With The Fairies. Medical/healthcare acronym from the ODSA stable. No longer politically correct in the clinical arena, this term is used on notes or charts to denote a patient who is in a confused or demented state. Doctors and nurses should use with extreme care, if at all, as it has become commonly known in recent years and relatives tend to get a little miffed. Having said which, the term is perfectly apt in the boardroom or shop floor if referring to senile old directors grimly hanging on to their old fashioned notions, as well as their dead men's shoes. (Ack Richard Beard)

2BC/2

Too Bloody Clever by Half. Polite and reasonably safe alternative to the fruitier 2FC/2 version. A warning for self or others as to the risks of complacency, over-complication, arrogance, pride (coming before a fall), etc.

BBSS or B²S²

Big Boobs, See Soon. Appalling and very scary doctors' notes shorthand acronym. (Ack JW)

B2B

Business To Business. Widely used business- and marketing-speak, describing a trading model where a business supplies other businesses. B2C is logially therefore Business To Consumer; B2G is Business To Government, and then it gets really silly: B2E is Business To Everybody; B2A is Business To Anybody; and B2B2C is Business To Business To Consumer.

BANANA

Built Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone. Partner acronym and ideal next stage to NIMBY. (Ack D Bodycombe)

BANJO

Bang Another Nuisance Job Out. Sister acronym to JFDI. For those irksome tasks that won't go away, no matter how long you leave them at the bottom of the in-tray. (Ack. Julie Bramhall)

BASIC

Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. Acronym name for the early computer programming language. Makes a good quiz question. (Ack R Leviton) See also COBOL. Additionally and alternatively (thanks T Bastock) BASIC has in past times been amusingly interpreted by IT technicians and to mean Bugger-All Sense In Computing.

BDU

Brain Dead User. Covert IT technical support staff acronym to describe a human failing instead of equipment or software fault. When you next hear reference to a BDU error, ask for an explanation... (Ack NM) See also ID10T, PEBCAK and PICNIC.

BEER

Behaviour, Effect, Expectation, Results. The headings by which to assess performance of anything, particularly a new initiative. A great discipline when working with a team or delegating another to conduct a review, when it's importnat to keep the review focused. (Ack. Don Clark)

BENDWIMP

Beliefs, Evidence, Needs, Desires, Wounds, Interests, Mentors, Proud of. A model, typically used as a table or template or matrix for identifying motivations and issues of stakeholders within a project plan. This has the look of something that could be protected intellectual property so I'd urge caution if you intend to exploit it outsode of a passing reference. The BENDWIMP acronym is apparently used by Tony Robbins, who seems also to be the originator. (My thanks to Steve Buonaugurio, who emailed to suggest it was first coined by Tony Robbins. Robbin's use of BENDWIMP is also confirmed by Robert Buttrick, who emailed me to confirm it featured on a Robbins seminar handout.)

BHAG

Big Hairy-Arsed Goal/Big Hairy-Assed Goal. The polite version 'Big Hairy Audacious Goal' doesn't have quite the same ring to it (no pun intended). (Ack M Cook) Provides an additional interpretation (and emphasises the WIIFM motivational theory) of the word 'bag' when used to refer to someone's area of interest or expertise, for example, when turning down an offer or opportunity with the response, "Not my Bhag I'm afraid...."

BHNC

Big Hat No Cattle. What a great expression. The abbreviation is all the more amusing because it looks like some kind of highly official certificate for the construction or maritime industry. See also AMAT and FCNK.

BIAT

Boss Is A Twit/Twerp/Twat etc. No nonsense here... one of the more direct modern workplace acronyms. (Ack R Biggs)

BID

Break It Down. When training anything to anybody never teach the whole thing all at once. Break the skill or process down to digestible parts. This will avoid destroying confidence, and enable gradual progress to the point that the whole thing can be practiced.

BITCH

Babe In Total Control of Herself. Supreme interpretation or response for the typical insulting or envious use of the term. A small yet powerful example of redefining a negative into a positive. Finding the good angle - an essential instrument of success. (Thanks A MacGowan)

BLACPU

Back Later After Christmas Piss-up. Seasonal acronym for when work and customers must necessarily fit in around the festivities and holidays.

BLT

Base-Line Test. More boring and less tasty alternative to the more common usage - Bacon Lettuce and Tomato (sandwich). (Ack Don Clark)

BMT

Before My Time. If you are a new broom trying to sweep clean, this is a useful response to the 'we've always done it that way' school of thought. In other words, 'that was then and this is now'. (Ack M Paretski)

BMW

Bitch, Moan and Whine/Whinge. Behaviour that can be exhibited by a group when stressed, demotivated or unhappy with their situation. Also a common subject area in meetings where the purpose and facilitation perhaps requires a more a positive focus or perspective. (Ack Denise) If you are a manager or team leader and ever find yourself having to handle a BMW session, give the group encouragement, responsibility and suitable freedom to identify and pursue constructive response, change and improvement. Focus on positive response rather than blame. Here are a couple of helpful quotes in this connection: "You have a choice whether to be part of the steam roller or part of the road.." (unknown) and "If you're not part of the solution you must be part of the problem.." (the commonly paraphrased version of the original quote: "What we're saying today is that you're either part of the solution, or you're part of the problem.." by Eldridge Cleaver 1935-98, founder member and information minister of the Black Panthers, American political activist group, in a speech in 1968). More relevant motivational quotes are on the quotes page. BMW is also interpreted in some police circles (ack P&J) as Break My Windows, being a reflection of the car make's tendency to attract envious attack, either through envy or because the mark is a favourite among gangsters who attract aggressive attentions. Additionally (ack Ed P) BMW is interpreted to form other ironic meanings such as the somewhat offensive Built by Migrant Workers; the irresitibly smile-inducing Big-up My Willy, and probably funniest of all to the folk who particularly resent the car brand and what they think it stands for: Bought Mainly by Wankers. There are some other automotive-related interpretations of BMW in the automotive aconyms list, interestingly including (ack G Boyle) Bersten Mal Wieder, which is apparently used by German folk, and means 'Bust Again'.

BOAC

Better On A Camel. Younger viewers perhaps will not know the old BOAC airline, which officially stood for British Overseas Airways Corporation. BOAC was the British state airline from 1939-74, after which it merged with BEA (British European Airways) to become British Airways. (ack ET) More aviation acronyms are in the airlines acronyms list below.

BOBFOC

Body Off Baywatch, Face Off Crimewatch. Nightclub and dating vernacular, and not gender specific. (Ack JHB)

BOCCA

Belief, Optimism, Courage, Conviction, Action. For the process of change. (Ack M Cook)

BODMAS

Brackets, Order (means power, e.g. power of two shown as ²), Divide, Multiply, Add, Subtract. BODMAS (thanks J McColl) provides the sequence for working out and constructing mathematical equations and formulas ('formulae' to be precise) containing more than one calculation. This methodology is commonly referred to as the order of mathematical 'operations'. For example does 2 x 5 + 3 = 13 or 16? BODMAS tells us to multiply before adding, so the answer is 13. Or the formula could be shown with brackets to give clearer indication, for example (2 x 5) + 3 = 13, or 2 x (5 + 3) = 16. In those two examples we calculate the brackets first. Remember that the word 'Order' in BODMAS means power, as in 10² means 10 to the power of two (i.e., 10 x 10, or 10 squared). Thus BODMAS helps both to construct and work out a formula such as (3 + 4)² + (6 ÷ 2)³ = 76. A more complex example might be 25 + 33 ÷ 11 x (27 ÷ 9)² = what? and where on earth do you start? BODMAS instructs us to work it out in the sequence below. BODMAS is therefore very useful for non-mathematical folk when trying to construct complex formulas (formulae) for spreadsheet cells. I hasten to add (no pun intended) that I am not a mathematician and I welcome suggestions for improving this item. Incidentally the final rule - work left to right - is not covered by BODMAS, but extending the acronym to BODMAWLTR somewhat spoils the effect.

	starting formula	25 + 33 ÷ 11 x (27 ÷ 9)² - 2
B	Brackets first, giving:	25 + 33 ÷ 11 x (3)² - 2
O	Order (power) next, giving:	25 + 33 ÷ 11 x 9 - 2
D	Divide next, giving:	25 + 3 x 9 - 2
M	Multiply next, giving:	25 + 27 - 2
A	Addition next, giving:	52 - 2
S	Subtraction next, giving:	50

BOGOFF

Buy One Get One For Free. Marketingspeak, but also great for emphasising the need for creative thinking to achieve cost-effective, high perceived value promotional selling.

BOHICA

Bend Over, Here It Comes Again. A fine motto for all who suffer under incompetent management. If you're a Theory-X manager (see Douglas McGregor X-Y Theory), your staff will regularly use this in your honour. For a free BOHICA colour poster see the free businessballs posters page. And if you are a CEO and you begin to see a few BOHICA posters appearing around the place, then perhaps start asking yourself some questions about your organisational culture and management style.. (thanks to Ralph Johnston for suggesting this acronym.)

BOHOF

Back Of Hand On Forehead. For those BOHOF moments.

BOMFOG

Brotherhood Of Man (under the) Fatherhood Of God. Paternalistic - and thoroughly patronising - expression of traditional values still held by many, including some who lead us. Accepting modern politically correct adaptations, BOMFOG attitudes typically sit snugly alongside the marginalisation of women and all other historically brow-beaten groups. Nowadays more importantly, BOMFOG thinking undermines humankind's independence and development. Nigel Rees, the commentator and language expert refers to BOMFOG as an acronym for a pompous meaningless generality. This interpretation - and the wider implications of BOMFOG - have a very relevant modern resonance with a certain arrogant deluded leadership style (akin to Theory Y, but altogether more deeply insidious) that we often see in the western world, which seeks to suppress and control all good and honest folk - people like you and me, capable of mature independent thoughts and actions of far greater purity and truth than those exhibited by our leaders, supported incidentally by much of our media. Leadership - and government, and any organized system - should be a force for genuine individual aspiration and emotional maturity. Regrettably however many sorts of leadership - especially of significant scale - eventually degenerate into control, manipulation, sham, and BOMFOG principles. By the way the term BOMFOG is linked most famously with certain very grand quotes attributed to the Rockerfellers (Nelson and John D) around the mid 1900s, generally pronouncing how a new world can be established, based on their own (superior, western, 'enlightened') view of life, and the assumption that holding such a view somehow includes the right to impose it on others. Sounds familiar?...

BOOSTER

Balanced, Observed, Objective, Specific, Timely, Enhancing, Relevant. Useful acronym for coaching and giving feedback to people. If anyone knows the origins please tell me. (Ack C Lloyd)

BOSCARDET

Background, Objectives, Scope, Constraints, Assumptions, Reporting, Dependencies, Estimates, Timescales. Very useful acronym for inception of projects, committees, investigations (inquiries), studies, reports, etc, where purpose, parameters and ground-rules etc., have to be established. It was/is used (apparently originally by Hoskyns, who later became Cap Gemini) as a reminder of the headings for a terms of reference document. (Ack J O'Connor)

BPO

Business Process Outsourcing. An acronym from recent times, covering a multitude of activities that are commonly outsourced today, for example, call centre and customer services, IT, HR and training, telemarketing, recruitment, health and safety, quality assurance and accreditation, manufacturing, logistics, sales and promotion, R&D, and pretty well anything else that a corporation might have considered a core function before outsourcing came along. I'm wondering when the first example of an outsourced board of directors will be seen....

BRAN

Benefits, Risks, Alternatives, Nothing. Decision-making aid, applicable and useful for all sorts of situations. What are the benefits and risks from a particular course of action or option or default? What are the alternatives (also considering their benefits and risks)? And finally always remember that there is the option to do nothing, which on occasions can be the best thing. (Ack A Jones)

BRIC

Brazil, Russia, India, China. This increasingly visible acronym emphasises the growing significance of the emerging markets, and the fact that the world is changing, whether the traditionally dominant (and patronising and arrogant) nations like it or not. It will not be long before the old economies start to find manufacturing and low-skilled jobs returning, for the same reasons they were once moved away.

BSA

Bloody Sore Arse/Ass. The BSA motorbike was not famed for its comfortable ride... Of course the usage is not restricted to motorbiking. Apparently the expression can be heard in the Dambusters film in a conversation between pilot and co-pilot after a particularly long flight, illustrating the expression's succinct and flexible quality. (Ack S Adam)

BTP

British Transport Police. More amusingly the acronym allegedly takes on an alternative meaning among certain transport staff who translate instead to mean Be There Presently (or Possibly or Potentially) when enquiry demand from customers exceeds the staff resource that is available to respond. (Ack AB)

BTW

By The Way. One of the most commonly used abbreviations today, meaning 'incidentally' or 'in passing', and, BTW, originally meaning 'by the way of a secondary subject or matter', which was earlier shortened to 'by the bye', which has now almost passed out of use. 'By the way' is referenced in 1870s Brewer, so it's not a recent expresssion.

BUFFS

Buck Up For Flips Sake. Polite version of motivational expression used in the Royal Navy. The language might be crude, but the sentiment is a positive one (ack S Smyth). See also FIDO and SUMO.

BUGGER

Best Universal Grit, Grime and Effluent Remover. A more polite alternative to the x-rated 'Finest Universal Cleaner Known' version below. Similar usage, for example, "..If Omo don't whiten it and Brasso don't brighten it, then BUUGGER it.." (Ack A Reeley)

BUMFFPICHH

Brakes, Undercarriage, Mixture, Fuel, Flaps, Pitch, Instruments, Carb heat, Hatches, Harnesses. Pre-landing checks system popular in private pilot licence training. Sometimes extended to BUMFFPICHHL and BUMFFPICHHLC to include Landing light and Clearance.

BUNDY

But Unfortunately Not Dead Yet. Nurses' and doctors receptionists' shorthand, but has many other applications elsewhere. I am informed that an extended version: TF-BUNDY (where the TF stands for 'Totally Fecked') is in routine use in at least one region of the UK. A further example of how dark humour is used to counter the darker aspects of human experience. (Ack DW)

BURMA

Be Undressed and Ready My Angel. Armed forces acronym code used typically on the backs of envelopes containing letters to sweethearts at home, as other examples NORWICH, SWALK, HOLLAND, EGYPT, CHIP, etc. (Thanks pointing out this glaring omission BC.) I am additionally informed (thanks A Sanderson) of the option to augment BURMA with SIAM.

BURP

Bankrupt Unemployed Rejected Person. Never use this, just try to be kind and understanding. See Maslow.

BVA

Breathing Valuable Air. (ODSA) Apparently used in Los Angeles by nurses as a comment about less deserving patients. Amusing and highly efficient, and transferable to a wide variety of situations. (Ack KT)

BWS

Beached Whale Syndrome. (ODSA) Nurses and doctors shorthand acronym.

BYOB

Bring Your Own Booze/Bottle. Widely used acronym used by party hosts and operators of unlicensed restaurants, instructing or requesting guests to bring drink, rather than expect it to be provided or available for purchase at the venue. There are other variations, for example, Bring Your Own Beef (for barbeques), Bring Your Own Bagels (gatherings of Jewish folk, or anyone really who likes bagels), and Bring Your Own Bag(s) (for shops keen to reduce use of free carrier bags). The Australian version is commonly altered to BYOG, Bring Your Own Grog. It has been suggested that Bring Your Own Basket(s) (for picnics) was an older version of the term although this seems not to be substantiated, and frankly I doubt it will be because the notion is a little bit daft. (Thanks P Bruton)

CADET

Can't Add, Doesn't Even Try. Assessment acronym for the numerically and motivationally challenged.

CAP

Cover All Possibilities. Versatile training and planning acronym. A more polite mnemonic than the P6 expression. (Thanks L Woodhouse).

CAPTCHA

Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. You will probably have used a captcha without realising that it has this strange name, or that it has a name at all. A captcha is the distorted code you copy and type into a website form. The code is unique and random and distorted so that computers (hopefully) cannot read and re-use it, which guards websites against mischievous or criminal automated attack. However, the speedy development of malevolent technology used by hackers and computer criminals (you could call it 'captcha catchup'..) means that the captcha designers must stay ahead of the bad guys, to keep captcha systems impregnable to automated computer violation. Incidentally when a captcha system is breached it enables what is known as a 'denial of service attack' (DoS attack), whereby a website or multi-user computer system is brought down by computer-automated enormous and unmanageable volumes of requests or actions, occasionally for the purposes of blackmailing the site operators, but often for reasons unrelated to monetary gain. The captcha is not the only angle of DoS attack, but the captcha does represent perhaps the earliest strategic battleground in the struggle to protect the web. Captcha is one of the most interesting and convoluted acronyms ever devised, seemingly by Luis von Ahn, Manuel Blum, Nicholas Hopper and John Langford in 2000. The acronym reflects its technical meaning and origins, and also reflects its purpose, which while primarily acting as a security device, also enables the 'capture' of data. The Turing test element refers to the exceptional English mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing and his theory and test work, first published in 1950, dealing with artificial intelligence and comparisons between human and computer 'thinking' capabilities. Alan Turing (1912-54) was a fascinating character in his own right - regarded as a founder of computer science, he was part of the famous and pivotal codebreaking team at Bletchley Park in the Second World War, and subsequently went on to pioneer the development of early computers and artificial intelligence. Shamefully his country later saw fit to prosecute and convict him for being a homosexual, following which he committed suicide in 1954, aged forty-one. Today Britain is very keen to patronise and impose our holier than thou ideas on the developing world. As with any situation where one seeks influence and change, perhaps a little more humility and awareness of our own past (and ongoing) failings would be more constructive.

CARAT

Counselling, Advice, Referral, Assessment and Throughcare. Acronym used in HM Prison Service (of the UK) referring to prison drug services and the programmes therein. The term (sometimes understandably mistaken to be CARROT) also extends to the assistance and workers involved in the delivery of prisoner drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation. The acronym does not signify a sequential process, but instead the elements contained within it. The actual sequence would typically place the Assessment element ahead of Advice and Referral, but the resulting CAART was presumably not memorable enough, or perhaps too close to the slang term 'cart', meaning prison or gallows, derived from the the late 1500s when horse-drawn carts were used for prisoner transport, and which is the origin of the modern expression 'in the cart' meaning to be in trouble or difficulty. The element called Throughcare might alternatively be represented as Aftercare (after release). We must assume that Throughcare was preferred because devising a useful mnemonic with three A's, a C and and R would have been impossible. There is an interesting lesson in this, aside from illustrating the elements of a rehabilitation process, namely that a good acronym should be memorable and distinct in its abbreviated and full form, and unfortunately CARAT is not, despite the very worthy aims and activities which underpin it.

CASH

Computer Assisted Self-Help. An acronym for the modern age. Computer-based methods for self-improvement, even therapy, are becoming increasingly viable, effective and common. Actually, and logically, Businessballs is a Computer Assisted Self-Help website, despite its limited functionality. Computer Assisted Self-Help can be very effective with or without the support of a real person, and we should expect to see significant development and availability of CASH products and services, offered via data storage devices and online through websites and intranets, etc. The additional ongoing development of artificial intelligence and its incorporation within computer-based applications will ensure that CASH websites and services become progressively sophisticated and widespread, across many different fields, from stress-management to life-change, marriage guidance to addictions counselling, and just about any other attitudinal or behavioural change you can imagine. (With acknowledgements to Steve Cottrell.)

CBI

Completely Bloody Ignorant. 'Backronym' apparently popularised by some Civil Service staff in response to remarks by Digby Jones (as Director General of the Confederation of British Industry) about Civil Service (public sector) pay and pensions. (Ack N Spargo)

CHAOS

Chief Has Arrived On Scene. From the Fire Rescue Service in Georgia US, and no doubt used elsewhere too. If not then it should be. For interfering bosses everywhere. (Ack J Attison)

CHAV

Council Housed And Violent. Modern mischievous 'bacronym' based on the chav slang word for a vulgar and/or anti-social person, male or female. The bacronym meaning is entirely made-up, but reflects a certain view in society of the description. See the likely actual word origins of chav.

CHINA

Chick Hunting In North Africa. Naval acronym, suitably toned down because the original meaning is too rich for this page. Possibly the most outrageous acronym in this listing. (Ack S Dancer)

CHIP

Come Home I'm Pregnant. Another acronym gem from the 2nd World War, and potentially applicable today for husbands on prolonged residential training courses, drilling rigs and overseas work assignments - see also ITALY, HOLLAND, SWALK, BURMA and NORWICH, etc. (Thanks Sandy Fox)

CLAMPS

Challenge, Location, Advancement, Money, Pride (or Prestige), Security. Employment and recruitment industry acronym: the six acceptable reasons for leaving your job if asked why in a job interview, cited by MJ Yate (interview guru and author). See the job interviews questions and answers page.

CLM

Career Limiting Move. A reminder to think twice before embarking on any action that has an obvious whiff of disaster about it. (Ack R Gesling and S Phillips)

CNA

Cleaning Nasty Arses/Asses. (ODSA) Alternative 'backronym' intepretation instead of usual meaning, which is Certified Nurses Assistant, whose duties typically extend to feeding, changing linens, bathing, shaving, etc., and whose wages commonly do not far exceed minimum wage. (Ack Nick H)

COBOL

COmmon Business Orientated Language. Acronym-derived name for the early computer language. (Ack RL) See also BASIC.

CPFR, CPFDR

Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment. Relatively modern supply chain management term, sometimes more fully expressed as CPFDR (Collaborative Planning, Forecasting Demand and Replenishment). Alternatively and less likely: Continuance Policy - Domestic Relations Division (related to legal process in Philadelphia County USA). Or it's also a US Engineering qualification, or a microbiological term for a Mitochondrial-type Ferredoxin Oxidoreductase, when it would be shown as CpFdR.

CPT, CPI and CPC

Cost Per Thousand, Cost Per Inquiry and Cost Per Conversion. Advertising terms and crucial measures of advertising and selling performance. CPT refers to the cost of reaching each thousand people of the target audience with the advertising message. CPI is the cost of each inquiry received, ie total advertising cost divided by the number of inquiries received. CPC is the total cost of each converted sale. Lowest CPT doesn't necessarily produce the lowest CPI, neither CPC. Lowest CPI doesn't necessarily produce lowest CPC. Conversion ratios or percentages between CPT, CPI and CPC are what count.

CRAFT

Can't Remember A Flipping Thing. Polite version. This acronym has various uses: for example Monday morning after Glastonbury or the Prague stag/hen weekend; those 'Senior' moments experienced by folk of advancing years. Or a tedious training course or meeting, or one of those awful 'pep up the workers' roadshow presentations by the new board of directors. (Ack L Speden, R Dale)

CRITWATNF

Currently Residing In The Where Are They Now File. The full expression perhaps originated, certainly features and achieved prominence in Rob Reiner's 1984 classic rock band spoof masterpiece movie This is Spinal Tap. A radio DJ refers to the band in this way. It's not the most easy to pronounce acronym, but is a fine example of the genre nevertheless. The term is widely applicable for all ideas, fashions, trends, personalities, must-haves, etc., which were once actually or hoped to be significant, but are now lost, hidden or conveniently forgotten. Use it to illustrate the fleeting nature of success, the whimsical nature of swarming humankind, or the fact, simply, that every dog has its day. What can seem in people's lives utterly crucial today, will almost certainly be insignificant given a little time. (Thanks P Smith for suggesting it.) See the CRITWATNF game

CRS

Can't Remember Shit/Stuff. (Thanks T White.) Alternatively Chinese Restaurant Syndrome, for that too-much-monosodium-glutamate-feeling. Perhaps the two feelings are related in some way.

CSN

Computer Says No. Needs no explanation.

CSR

Corporate Social Responsibility. A central aspect of capability and process within all all good organizations, and one of several related concepts within the 'ethical organisations' philosophy.

CT

Cerca Trova. Latin for 'Seek and and you shall find'. Highly civilised and academic alternative to GAAFOFY, and WIOFYFS.

CTD

Circling the Drain. Healthcare acronym. Technically and originally Close To Death. Transferable to a wide variety of lost causes. (Ack L Russell)

C**T

Computer User Non-Technical. Outrageous of course. Apparently from the IT services community, see also DISFOB and PEBCAK. Alternatively, Can't Understand New Technology, or Can't Utilise Normal Thinking. (Ack JB and CL)

CUOA

Compulsive Use Of Acronyms. Not guilty....... There is the true story of the meeting that took place in a particular government office to discuss the effects of EMU. Some considerable time into the meeting it was discovered that half of the participants thought they were there to discuss the European Monetary Union, while the other half were thinking about Environmental Monitoring and Utilisation. (With thanks to Kevin Thomas.)

DAGMAR

Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Results. The principle that the effectiveness of advertising can only be measured if the aims of the advertising are clearly specified before it takes place.

DELTA

Doesn't Ever Leave The Airport. Sardonic reverse acronym at the Delta airline's expense. I'm sure they are every bit as punctual as all the other airlines. (Ack M Navaroli) See several other interpretations of the DELTA acronym in the airlines and aviation backronyms list.

DIAGEO

Don't Imagine Any Great Employment Opportunities. Not true of course... See the full entry in the corporation backronyms ('corporanyms') list. (Thanks JV for correction.)

DIF (analysis)

Difficulty, Importance, Frequency. DIF Analysis is a method of assessing performance, prioritising training needs and planning training, based on three perspectives: Difficulty, Importance, and Frequency. The system can be used in different ways, commonly entailing a flow diagram and process of assessing (scoring) each activity according to the three elements, Difficulty, Importance, and Frequency, in that sequence. At a simple level, an activity that scores low on all three scales is obviously low priority; whereas an activity that scores high on all three scales is a high priority. Weighting (significance of each factor relative to the job purpose/aims) is required in order to optimise the usefulness and relevance of the system, especially if applied to a group or organization. Quicker simpler alternatives of prioritising training are the Essential/Desirable (one or the other) grading of activities or job competencies, whereby essential skills take priority over desirable ones; or the use of a matrix of high/low task importance and high/low skill capability, to identify priority training on the basis that there is a high need (low skill capability) in an important task or competency. DIF Analysis has roots in military training, where traditionally training and development tended to be oriented according to task effectiveness and organizational efficiency, rather than driven by individual personal development needs.

DIKWIAD?

Do I Know What I Am Doing? Useful reminder to check readiness before starting anything which might cause problems if under-prepared. See also IKWIAD.

DILLIGAFF

Do I Look Like I Give A Flying Fig? Polite version. Alternatively again DILLIGAF, which omits the 'Flying' element. And the variation (ack A Burger) Does It Look Like I Give A Fig? The possibilities are almost endless. Popularly used for emphasising a lack of time or concern for a particular issue arising. DILLIGAFF illustrates a personal view which could result from pure apathy, or more excusably from having more essential responsibilities and priorities, hence the expression's use in the modern heathcare industry, and similar sectors where there's more demand than resource to meet it. DILLIGAFF is the opposite to empathy, and can also be used to illustrate the 'apathetic worker' syndrome. (Ack Dr N Roney and S Didlick and the many others.)

DIMWIT

Don't Interrupt Me While I'm Talking. I rarely publish newly created acronyms in this listing, but this one is so good I had to include it. This was created and sent to me by writer Sandra McCarthy, thanks.

DIN

Do It Now. See JFDI.... For procrastinators everywhere. As the famous quote says: 'We all know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run over..' (Aneurin Bevan).

DINA

Description Is Not Analysis. Simple yet profoundly useful acronym for anyone involved in helping others to think and interpret rather than simply paraphrase or describe. Commonly used by teachers when encouraging students to be more creative in answering questions. Readily transfers to corporate training and evaluation, business report writing, strategic planning, etc. (Ack Leena Cohen)

DINK/DINKY

Double Income No Kids/Yet. The only people these days who can remotely afford to buy a few bricks of and a couple of fence panels towards their first house. The Y for 'yet' was a later addition based on the pluralised DINKIES version of the base DINK expression.

DISFOB

Digital Interface is a Shit FOr Brains. Tenuously and amusingly constructed, and an obviously insulting term, allegedly used by certain members of the computer technical support community to describe an inept user. The loose construction of the acronym - which technically should be the very unmemorable DIIASFB - probably owes much to it bringing to mind the word 'dysfuntional'. Appalling of course. (Ack GJ) See also the ID 10 T code, PEBCAK, PICNIC, DISFOB, BDU, ESO, EBCAD and UBAD.

DMAIC

Define opportunity, Measure performance, Analyse opportunity, Improve performance, Control performance. The Six Sigma process improvement model, used by Six Sigma project teams, as defined by Motorola Inc. An acronym - or strictly an abbreviation - from the 1980s. One would have expected that such an all-conquering management movement, as Six Sigma seems now to be, could have come up with a more memorable mnemonic...

D NA

Deoxyribonucleic Acid, represented by the famous double helix, and the Human Genome Project which successfully mapped human DNA in 2003. DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) was first identified in salmon sperm by Friedrich Miescher in 1869, and was generally accepted to carry genetic code of all living things following the published work of Crick and Watson in 1953. A mischievous alternative interpretation to the usual meaning of DNA is National Dyslexia Association, which is of course cruel if used as such, but does offer the opportunity to explain a little about Dyslexia, which is widely misunderstood. As regards the word Dyslexia, its meaning, 'difficulty with words' is derived from Greek (lexis is Greek for speech), and that's what it means - difficulty with words, notably spelling and reading - it does not mean that the person is daft or stupid, in fact often the opposite is closer to the truth. Dyslexia is often called a gift, since for many 'sufferers' that's what it is. Interestingly as many as 10% of people at work are thought could suffer with this disability to one extent or another (source: British Dyslexia Association - not the National Dyslexia Association, which is a made-up organisation to fit the acronym). Two important points about dyslexia: Dyslexia is technically a disability as well as a 'gift', so employers quite rightly have to make appropriate allowances for sufferers or risk falling foul of disability and discrimination laws. An innocently intended workplace joke or email, like the outrageously non-pc "Dyslexics of the world - Untie!" (thanks L Scott..) would be grounds for a disability discrimination claim, or perhaps even a bullying tribunal, so be careful. Secondly and more positively, dyslexia sufferers tend to have special strengths resulting from the way their brains work, notably in problem-solving, innovation, creativity, trouble-shooting, entrepreneurialism, intuitive feelings and judgements, sport, politics, and artistic expression of various sorts. Famous dyslexics include Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, David Bailey, General George Patton, Robin Williams, John Lennon, Nigel Kennedy, Cher, Muhammad Ali, Steve Redgrave, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Woodrow Wilson, John F Kennedy, Richard Branson, Henry Ford, William Hewlett, Charles Schwab, Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves, Erin Brockovich - see, it's a gift. This aspect of alternative strengths relates to multiple intelligence theory, which like the whole area of individuality, is much neglected in education and work. Employers, teachers, and individuals seeking more information about dyslexia should visit the BDA website. Finally, and nothing to do with Dyslexia, DNA might alternatively be employed (thanks S McCarthy) to mean Do Not Ask, which aside from other purposes is a witty response for anyone seeking the full scientific explanation.

DONFI

Day Off, Not Flipping Interested. Polite version. Most commonly used by off-duty staff of amenities such as hotels, swimming pools, holiday camps, bars, etc., towards fellow staff to signify their non-availability while using the facilities. (Ack R Banham)

DRAW

Dignity and Respect At Work. Acronym mnemonic for workplace culture, attitude, behaviour, values, etc. (Ack M Andrews)

DREAM

Dedication, Responsibility, Education, Attitude, Motivation. The DREAM acronym seems to feature particularly on rubber wrist bands, and is now linked with Kevin Carroll, former NBA trainer, motivational speaker and author. According to Steve Wulf, an executive editor of ESPN's The Magazine (Oct 2005), "... Carroll, working at Nike at the time, noticed that clear DREAM bands were being put as giveaways in boxes of Kevin Garnett shoes..... Carroll asked if he could use them in the motivational talks he gave at schools and camps. Part of his spiel, in fact, had to do with the acronym DREAM: 'Dedication, Responsibility, Education, Attitude, Motivation.' Pretty soon, Carroll was handing them out by the thousands..." Also according to Wulf, the wristband penomenon can be traced back to the 1960s, when it was "just a series of rubber bands that urban basketball players put on their wrists as both a fashion statement and a shooting aid.... every athlete was wearing elastic cloth-covered wristbands.... But it wasn't until 2001 that the fashion statement took on some meaning.. "

DRIB

Don't Read If Busy. Only the email generation could have developed the need for such an acronym....

DRIVE

Define, Review, Identify, Verify, Execute. Influential and useful acronym within the Quality Management field. (See Quality Management process improvement tools.)

DRM

Digital Rights Management. DRM might seem one of the most boring abbreviations in this list, but Digital Rights Management is a hugely far-reaching issue. Digital Rights Management is basically the means by which intellectual property (IP) is protected and its usage is controlled. This particularly applies to intellectual property of the digital age: music, film, news, and arguably more significantly: information, software, and technology. The implications of Digital Rights Management extend ultimately to the way that knowledge and created works of all sorts are spread and made available around the world, the process of which of course contributes to the development of human civilisation. The 'web 2.0' age of the internet (community-generated content and technology provision and sharing) is now challenging how we all think and behave towards intellectual property. The internet offers unprecedented opportunities for sharing knowledge and extending access to created works of all sorts, whereas many IP owners and exploiters have an entirely different priority, namely profit. The transference of knowledge and technology among people around the world, and from one generation to the next, is what determines human progress. And yet typical corporate interpretations of DRM essentially seek to frustrate this process. Where DRM is restrictive and greedy, so knowledge and human advancement are suppressed. Where DRM is open and giving, so knowledge and advancement are expansive. The begs certain questions of IP owners and also of those who might challenge their behaviour and motives. For example, to what extent can people and organisations who have already made vast fortunes from their intellectual property be a little more willing to share for free? Could multi-billionaires start helping the world earlier, before accumulating such an incomprehensible level of personal wealth? Does accumulating money and power and corporate success make people mean and greedy, or are they mean and greedy to start with, and that's what makes them so effective at protecting and exploiting what they create? What is most important: making a ton of money, or making the most of what you can offer the world? These and other unfathomable questions will not be answered here and now, but in the way future generations look back on it all. And anyway, will anyone actually want to pay money for Cliff Richard's music in 80 years time?..

DRT

Dead Right There. (ODSA) Doctors and nurses shorthand acronym for a patient found dead at the scene.

DRTTTT

Dead Right There, There, There, and There. (ODSA) Nurses and doctors abbreviation, as DRT above, but used for pedestrian-train incidents. This outrageous acronym is an example of the human species' tendency to use humour when dealing with horrific trauma.

DRTAGTSTW

Dead Right There And Going To Stay That Way. Extended version of DRT used by certain US police and fire-rescue personnel in incidents involving catastrophic injuries. (Ack J Attison)

DTS

Danger To Shipping. Another healthcare coded shorthand term for particularly obese patients, very transferable (and equally insulting) to anyone who ate all the pies. Use with great care, in fact best not use it at all. (thanks D Chadwick)

DUTCHIE

Defer Until The Christmas Holiday Is Ended. Seasonal acronym explaining why most business comes to a grinding stop for two whole weeks at the end of the year. See also LUCID.

E&OE

Errors and Omissions Excepted. Shorthand disclaimer notice, used as a rider at the bottom of invoices and other documents with potentially legal and contractual implications. Effectively means that no liability is accepted for mistakes and omissions. (Ack N Whiteley)

EBCAD

Error Between Chair and Desk. ITC helpdesk shorthand, but of course not necessarily restricted to IT applications. EBCAD (Thanks P Bretnall) is a lovely variation on PEBCAK, and actually is far more widely useable since it better defines the human element (carelessness, ruthlessness, greed, laziness, etc) typically found to be at fault when things go tits up. Even the great noughties Credit Crunch and the beginning of the end of the free market economy as we once knew it can ultimately be distilled to a single simple common EBCAD error, albeit replicated across the most significant executive offices of the financial and regulatory world. See also PICNIC.

EBITDA

Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization. One of a series of esoteric 'EB' (Earnings Before..) financial acronyms, eg, EBT = Earnings Before Taxes; EBIAT = Earnings Before Interest after Taxes; EBIT = Earnings Before Interest and Taxes; EBITD = Earnings Before Interest, Taxes and Depreciation; and the completely unrelated EBRD = European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. (Earnings are profits from operating and non-operating activities.) More financial terms and definitions on the financial terms and acronyms section.

EDINBURGH

Elated Darling, I'm Near, Book Usual Room, Grand Hotel. Lovers code from way back. You see, people have been using social and flirting short-hand for generations - before texting was ever imagined, see also SWALK, NORWICH, etc.

EFTPOS

Electronic Funds Transfer at Point Of Sale. Retail acronym. Extension of EPOS (Electronic Point Of Sale), whereby the retailer or seller point of sale system allows payment by electronic credit or debit method via connection to a central banking agency. (Ack L Starkey)

EGYPT

Eager To Grab Your Pretty Toes/Tits/Testicles. Non-pc armed forces acronym code used in letters to sweethearts at home, as other examples NORWICH, SWALK, HOLLAND, BURMA, CHIP, etc. (Ack R Tickner)

EPACA

Evaluate, Plan, Action, Check, Amend. And so on.... The helix of continuous improvement.

EPOS

Electronic Point Of Sale. The retail industry term for auto-readers - normally of bar-codes - at store checkout tills. EPOS caused a retail revolution, enabling massive advantages for retailers and sellers, including automated stock control and re-ordering, sales tracking, market research, staff de-skilling, customer service, customer spending profiling and loyalty card systems. Sometimes referred to as EPS. See also EFTPOS.

ERCP

Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio-Pancreatoscopy. (ODSA) Healthcare acronym. A way of examining the bile ducts/gall bladder and pancreatic ducts using an endoscope. However, if a newly admitted patient dies suddenly before they have been examined ('clerked') by the ward doctor, the 'admission' notes may be written up post-mortem (after they should have been, in other words), in which case the acronym takes on a more mischievous interpretation: Emergency Retrograde Clerking of Patient. (ack ET)

ERIC

Emotional Reaction Impedes Control. Acronym version of the rule of 'counting to ten' to avert feelings of rage or distress. It is certainly true and generally forgotten in the heat of an argument or other stressful situation, that becoming overly emotional is rarely helpful, and usually damaging to all concerned. The theory and learning relating to Transactional Analysis is especially useful in understanding what causes emotional reactions and how to manage these feelings when you feel them rising up. Here is an ERIC poster pdf version of this fine maxim. (Thanks George Chamberlain, who in all likelihood originated this excellent mnemonic and aid to self-improvement around 1975. Incidentally the cartoon is from that time, and was drawn for George by Colin Howard.)

ESO

Equipment Superior to Operator. Coded acronym written on a work-order by a technician that means 'There's nothing wrong with this equipment - the problem is the owner.' See also PEBCAK, BDU, PICNIC, UBAD. (ack PM Christian)

ETAM

Everything To Attract Men. It was suggested to me a while ago that this is the origin of the ladies fashionwear chain name. It isn't, but it's an amusing acronym all the same. I am grateful to Alain Xhignesse for explaining that ETAM in fact derived from the company name ETAblissements Mayer, which in 1916 created the first ETAM store - a hosiery boutique in Germany - which later grew into the famous ETAM chain.

2FC/2

Too Flipping Clever by Half. Polite version. One of the more creative acronyms. Alternatively shown as 2FC over 2, as illustrated right. Various uses for self or for others, to warn against complacency, arrogance, over-engineered solutions, pride comes before a fall, etc. (Ack S Bignall) See 2BC/2.

F11K

Flip If I Know. Polite version. The mysterious 'F Eleven K' code has been appearing on technical query reports for many years. (Ack DR) See also the 'ID 10 T' code.

FAB

Features, Advantages, Benefits. A widely used selling techniques acronym within the traditional selling process and related sales training. People are more interested in what improvements a product or service will bring rather than a description of what is being sold. While modern sales methods have eclipsed the significance of the FAB principle, the fact remains: it's more important to focus on what a proposition will do for the listener, beyond merely what the proposition is.

FART

Fecal Air Rectally Transmitted. Daft and amusing restrospectively devised acronym, so it's technically a 'backronym'. The word fart in fact is derived from Old High German 'ferzan' (pronounced fertsan) from older Germanic roots 'fertan', both of which are clearly onomatopoeic (sounds like what it is), as is the modern-day word, unchanged in English since the 1200s. Words and language might change over time, but the sound of a fart is one of life's more enduring features.

FAS

Fat And Stupid. Healthcare coded patient notes acronym. Use with caution, although safely describes those 4 inch thick system manuals, written by experts, which don't actually explain anything about how to use the system. (Thanks S Fox). Also means Feasibility Analysis Study, which is rather less contentious.

FAT

Final Acceptance Testing. Marketing or product development technical term. Crucial stage often overlooked by egocentric owner-managers and corporate chieftens, expensive designers and advertising agencies, politicians and millennium commissioners, etc, who become seduced by their own magnificence, and make disasterous assumptions on behalf ordinary people who then decide not to buy/vote/turn up etc. (Ack. Don Clark)

FBO

Failing Better Offer. A caviat for many occasions - business negotiating, social diaries, time management and planning, quality management, percentage management - a great alternative to simply saying maybe or perhaps, or yes, when you really mean FBO. (Ack. Ben Ball)

FCNK

Fur Coat No Knickers. And with similar meanings, see also BHNC and AMAT. (Ack M Price)

FDGB

Fall Down Go Boom. Hospital accident and emergency notes acronym often referring to a patient's injuries caused by alcohol abuse. (Thanks B Villona) See also PAFO.

FEAR

Forget Everything And Run. Polite version. One of the best reverse acronyms (bacronym/backronym is the modern term) ever devised (thanks A Davice). The acronym explains what happens when the fear response takes over, and the primative brain switches to auto-pilot. Great for presentations training and 'training the trainer', to emphasise why nobody ever does anything really well under extreme stress except shut down. There are fruitier interpretations of the word Forget of course. An alternative acronym meaning which addresses the point that fear is 'all in the mind', and therefore not to feel so threatened by it, was popularised by Zig Ziglar: False Evidence Appearing Real. Additionally I am informed (thanks C Lane, who originated this clever alternative) of another excellent interpretation of the FEAR acronym, for use especially in teaching public speaking and presentation skills, where one's natural FEAR response can be seen instead in terms of nervousness benefits: Focused Energized Alert Ready.

FFFF (or the 4F's)

Find 'em, Feel 'em, Fondle'em, and Forget 'em. Polite version. This expression is in this listing for historical reference only and is not recommended for use anywhere. The Four F's probably originated and certainly came to prominence in the British Armed Forces, WWII. In its day the expression was of course gender specific but now in this age of gender equality is not necessarily so. (Ack G Day)

FIDO

Forget It and Drive On. An acronym made populr by motivational writer and speaker Zig Ziglar. Dwelling on past disappointments or seeking revenge is self-destructive. It's far better to concentrate effort on the next challenge. See also SUMO and BUFFS.

FIAT

Fart In A Trance. Every organization has a person who seems to be perpetually in FIAT mode. Most of us experience being in this state at least a couple of times a week, especially Mondays after heavy weekend, or while captive in corporate presentations or boring training sessions. Alternative to MEGO. (Ack Tony Lomas)

FIFO

First In First Out. Originally an accounting term, to provide a convention for writing down the balance sheet value of assets of the same type. Applies to any situation where the oldest go first and the newest stay longest, but a perilous policy in terms of staff. See ageism. More controversially (ack GR) FIFO describes the uncaring autocratic culture of certain employers - Fit In or F Off.

FILO

First In Last Out. Again originally an accounting term for depreciation practice, whereby the oldest assets are the last to be written off. The term has wider applications, particularly rock festival car parks, overcrowded tube trains and airport buses.

FILTH

Failed In London, Try Hong-Kong. Before handover of Hong-Kong by the UK to China in 1999, this acronym sardonically reflected the treatment by certain multi-national employers of under-performing or out-of-favour staff. (Ack JW)

FIGJAM

Flip I’m Good, Just Ask Me. Polite version. Superb acronym, with Australian origins apparently, for show-offs and big-heads everywhere. Ideal code for referring to person or behaviour when someone holds a very high opinion of themselves, through self-delusion, arrogance, or because they happen to be held in unreasonably high esteem by a superior. '...he's full of FIGJAM...' (Ack NB)

FIGS

French, Italian, German, Spanish. Shorthand used by some in considering or targeting the traditional four main languages of the European market and the demographics and communications variations required to address it.

FINE

Fanatical, Insecure, Neurotic and Emotional. Alternative ironic acronym response to the universal question, "How are you?.." (Ack D Jenkins). FINE carries an alternative meaning, more as a comment on someone else's mood: Feelings Inside Not Expressed, notably in the context of attitude, communications, coaching, life-change, etc. People commonly respond to the question, "How are you?" by saying "Fine," when they perhaps are anything but fine, (thanks K Freeman). Alternatively, ruder, and toned-down accordingly - Flipping Incapable of Normal Emotion, (thanks W O'Leary).

FIRE

Find Inform Restrict Extinguish. One of those wonderful acronyms in which the new word actully relates to the subject; this one for student fire-fighters, and anybody else for that matter, since it represents the essential rules and process of dealing with fires. (Ack JH)

FISH

First In Stays Here. Stock control expression, similar to FIST. (Ack A Chapman - no relation)

FISH & CHIPS

Fighting In Someone's House & Causing Havoc In People's Streets. Army infantry acronym for urban warfare.

FIST

First In Stays There. Financial and stock-holding term, describing the practice of not rotating the stock, so that the first pieces of stock stay in stock and 'on the books' for ever. (Ack J Taylor)

FITH

Fecked In The Head. Marginally more polite version than the common form. One of many no-nonsense nurses' acronyms to describe a patient's condition in terms that fall some way short of being politically correct. (Ack Charli)

FLA

Four Letter Acronym. Arguable contradiction in terms, and companion acronym for TLA. See also UTLA and UFLA.

FLK

Funny Looking Kid. (ODSA). Used by medical and healthcare folk to describe an infant or newborn whose looks are unlikely to provide a passport to fame and fortune. Perhaps (aside from dark humour at work) this is a manifestation of some sort of envy, given that 'funny looking kids' often grow to be some of the loveliest people you could ever wish to meet. Where we fear and ridicule funny looking people, deep down perhaps we see in them a strength and resolve that normal looking folk don't possess, because we've never had to. (Ever read Mary Shelly's Frankenstein?...)

FLKFLP

Funny Looking Kid, Funny Looking Parents. Healthcare acronym. See above. (Ack S Pennington)

FLUF

Fat Little Ugly Fellow. Polite version. For a short boss with Napoleonic syndrome. (Ack D Harrison)

FLOFTUS

First Lady OF The United States. Acronym for the president's wife, used by Whitehouse staff according to Richard Clarke, in preference to the more obvious and widely referenced FLOTUS. It's a mystery why the F is employed - perhaps FLOTUS means something else as well? Answers on a postcard please... First suggestion (ack Kit Watson): "I can think of a reason why they use 'FLOFTUS' and not 'FLOTUS'. Flotus is very close to the word 'Flatus', which refers to the gas passed in flatulence..."

FMCG

Fast Moving Consumer Goods. Nothing to do with skills development, just an acronym that lots of people have heard and don't know what it means.

FND

Flipping Nearly Died. Polite version of healthcare term, transferrable to descriptions of any traumatic aftermath, eg, sales conferences involving overnight stays and obliging night porters; excessive outward bound courses; car journeys with the firm's worst driver, etc. (Ack. A Carr)

FNG

Flipping New Guy. Polite version. Increasingly common acronym for the new recruit, especially in certain institutional environments (armed forces, police, etc) where new people stick out more prominently than the seasoned staff. Less relevant in organisations with a quicker staff turnover where the majority of the workforce can be FNG's. Alternatively expressed (ack T Birt) as a made-up word based on the phonetic quality of the FNG acronym: 'Fnoogy'.

FOAK

First Of A Kind. An acronym to illustrate the development or attainment of uniqueness, relevant to developing sales and business propositions, USP's and value-added offerings. (Ack PL) See also GOAT.

FOBIO

Frequently Outwitted By Inanimate Objects. Ideal for anyone struggling with one of those ridiculous picnic tables, flat-pack self-assembly furniture, crisis situations caused by errant cars, computers, mobile phones, and the ultimate FOBIO challenge - removing the cellophane from a new CD.

FOCUS(ED)

Futuristic Observation Creates Unique Solutions (Enabling Development). Training and presentations acronym to emphasise that vision is essential for creating unique solutions and development. (Ack PL)

FOB

Free On Board. FOB is an import/export term relating to the point (outgoing port or airport usually) at which responsibility for goods, insurance, and costs of transport, passes from seller (exporter) to buyer (importer). The FOB expression originates from the meaning that the buyer is free of liability up to the point that the goods are loaded on board the ship. In recent years FOB is used less specifically, even to the extent that other meanings are inferred from the acronym, most commonly Freight On Board (which appears in many online dictionaries and acronyms listings), and I've also heard of Fixed On Board. These distortions reflect the fact that the FOB principle is not readily recognised or understood by the Free On Board original (and quite old) meaning. When language doesn't make obvious sense people are apt to change it, which is how language evolves, which is okay so long as explanations are given. If you use or hear the term it's sensible to clarify precise meaning. More explanation about FOB in the financial terms section.

FOC

Free Of Charge. Widely used acronym promising a good deal, however see TANSTAAFL.

FOFO

Feck Off and Find Out. Regrettably there is no easy polite alternative to the F Off term. I'm doing my best to tread a narrow line without resorting to those silly ****s all over the place. One of the great training and management acronyms, it emphasises the opportunity or requirement for people to find answers themselves rather than be spoon-fed, which achieves little. Generally the process of development is much strengthened using FOFO principles wherever possible. Nevertheless, use it with care and with humour - see the Transactional Analysis guidelines on keeping communications adult-to-adult. If in doubt use GAAFOFY instead (see GAAFOFY). See also WIOFYFS. (FOFO: Ack. Neal Stothard)

FOOSH

Fall On Out-Stretched Hand. Medical acronym describing cause of injury to hand, wrist, etc. (Thanks B Villona)

FORCE

Focus On Reducing Costs Everywhere. From USA industry. An acronym that can be applied anywhere. Perhaps not the most progressive strategy ever invented, but sometimes necessary and helpful, provided the cost-cutting does not prevent activities that would otherwise bring good and fast returns on investment, and also provided that the long-term well-being of operations and people are not sacrificed. (Ack P Lock)

FORD

Found On Roadside, Dead. Apt and amusing acronym (backronym actually) to describe a project, idea, etc., not worth bothering with, due to high probabilty of ultimate failure. A quick explanation for not pursuing the non-viable. An excellent reminder of the need to invest one's time productively. (Ack D Compton) Alternatively, in relation to the car make, Found On Rubbish Dump. (Ack T Day). Alterntively and amusingly: Fix Or Repair Daily (Ack AJ), or arguably a more grammatically correct expression Fix Or Replace Daily (Ack SM). Then there is Flip Over, Read Directions, also First On Race Day, and how about For Outstanding Reliability and Dependability... (ack PL) See further automotive acronyms.

FRACS

Fornicates Regularly And Chain Smokes. (ODSA) The polite version is arguably better than the rude one. Nurses and doctors acronym for covert patients notes. (Ack L Speden)

FRED

Flipping Ridiculous Electronic Device. Polite version. An increasingly popular acronym that many people now use to describe a computer or other gadget causing frustration or technical difficulty for the user.

FUBAR

Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition. Polie version. Sister acronym to FUBB below, dating from way back and like FUBB popularised by American forces in the 2nd World War. The more polite version is commonly altered to Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition. (Thanks M Cook) FUBAR is now particularly used in the IT industry and healthcare sectors, for example (it is alleged) to describe a patient with specialised needs who has been treated by non-specialist doctors, and for whom now it is impossible to tell what signs/symptoms are due to the disease and what are to the inappropriate treatment. The expression is sometimes combined with BUNDY, ie., FUBAR-BUNDY = a FUBAR, for whom it is now too late for effective treatment. See also related terms such as SNAFU and VSF, etc. (Ack E Thomas and the many others)

FUBB

Fouled Up Beyond Belief. Polite version. An old acronym that is just as useful today as when first devised. Probably originated in the 2nd World War.

F**K

Finest Universal Cleaner Known/Fornication Under Consent of the King. First, let's deal with the 'Finest Universal Cleaner Known' bacronym. Apparently this was initially a Royal Navy acronym (bacronym) to describe 'elbow grease' and a reminder that physical effort generally produces the best results of all, irrespective of modern technology. The meaning behind this wonderful acronym is supported by the following story: Apparently just before the Second World War, the British armed forces adopted new webbing, (the belt and harness to carry ammunition, water bottle, bayonet, etc). The new webbing was made of heavy canvas (khaki for the Army, blue-grey for the Air Force, white for the Navy), with numerous brass buckles and strap tabs. Of course the webbing had to be kept clean and bright, for which sailors were issued Blanco (whitening) and Brasso (brass polish). Early examples of the new webbing were particularly difficult to clean, whereupon official instruction from the old Chief Petty Officers was to use plenty of 'elbow grease', given that this was the 'Finest Universal Cleaner Known'. The sailors soon recognised the significance of the initials and developed a typical piece of folk wisdom: "If Blanco don't whiten it and Brasso don't brighten it then FUCK it.." (ack N Spargo) See also BUGGER. Separately FUCK has been interpreted as a bacronym with the meaning Fornication Under Consent of the King, around which various stories claim to be the roots of the swear word itself. Alas none true, I'm sad to say. See the fuck entry in the words and cliches page.

FUCT

Failed Under Continuous Testing. In other words, broken. One of the all-time great acronyms, and nothing rude about it at all, surely. Used especially by technical people in the entertainment industry and deserves usage and recognition on a global scale. Also expands to FUCT UP (Failed Under Continuous Testing Under Pressure). Arguably both are reverse acronyms, however you can't argue with them being very funny and elegantly succinct. In addition to the acronym itself, a particularly amusing example of usage was sent to me (thanks P Giles): 'F U C T U P' written one letter each across the six broken channels of a lighting control desk.

FUD

Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. Acronym from the marketing world, in which propositions leveraged by FUD create additional motivation for the target audience to buy or act - for example Y2K computer scare stories, various types of insurance, extended warranties and guarantees, security and surveillance offerings; typically most preventative products and services. (Thanks M Adamson)

FUGAZI

Foul Up, Got Ambushed, Zipped In. Polite version. Seemingly the FUGAZI acronym was first coined by US troops in Vietnam. FUGAZI is potentially transferable to other disasters resulting from poor preparation and over-confidence, eg., training sessions which turn into mutinies and customer meetings which force the supplier to give away massive concessions. FUGAZI was a Marillion album title (they knew what it meant) apparently, and is also a band (who didn't know what it meant - apparently). See also P6, etc. (Ack M Andrews)

FUJIYAMA

Feck You Jack I'm Alright. Marginally polite version. A fruity old acronym that's not a precise abbreviation, instead partly a clever phonetic structure in which the 'IYAM' element equates to the words I am, or 'I'm. The expression is from the rank and file soldiers of the 2nd World War, notably and almost certainly originating in the Pacific war zones. Interestingly this acronym also provided the origin of the more recent expression and humourous boast, at the expense of a lumbered mate: 'I'm alright Jack', which of course means the same as the full orignal FUJIYAMA version.

GAAFOFY

Go Away And Find Out For Yourself. Now this one looks like it's going to be packed full of swear words, but strangely it's not. A motto for self-reliance and taking personal responsibility. The quest for empowered people in organisations cuts both ways - the organisation needs to give people more freedom, and people need to take responsibility for finding their own answers and solutions. Managers of course need to support the process of achieving all this (see delegation and Tannenbaum & Schmidt). GAAFOFY is also a super acronym for daft questions received in a training, teaching and coaching context. It's a reminder that we all need to seek our own answers rather than rely on 'received wisdom' or someone else's solution that might well be overdue for improvement. See also WIOFYFS. For a free GAAFOFY colour poster see the free businessballs posters page.

GAAP

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. To non-accountants this may seem a contradiction in terms.

GAAR

General Anti-Avoidance Rule. Pertaining to taxation and the avoidance thereof.

GAAS

Generally Accepted Auditing Standards. Perhaps only marginally less contradictory than GAAP, but they do exist, honestly.

GADD

Generation-Attention Deficit Disorder (Generation-ADD). Amusing if slightly insulting (and ironically, envious) reference to the modern generation of young people who need and can effectively absorb information, learning, entertainment, advertising, etc., much more quickly than older folk. Previous generations (X, Y, Baby-boomers for example) were brought up reading whole books, writing memos, and attending meetings, so their brains tend to be less well-tuned to the dramatically abbreviated communications and speed of life which characterise the blackberryfacespace age. GADD people even have their own language - largely free of vowels, punctuation, capital letters, etc - which older people criticise, but this is exactly how life and society changes. Each successive generation becomes quicker and more efficient at sending and receiving information, and this also extends to entertainment and leisure activities. To older people this faster lifstyle seems like laziness or carelessness, but in fact it is more a reflection of the progressive sharpening of human brainpower. Interestingly, genius minds of any generation have very low spans of attention: a sharp mind grasps a concept extremely quickly, becomes bored very quickly, and naturally seeks alternative stimulus if the present issue starts to drag. Despite what we might read about the worsening standards of education, young people are very sharp indeed. Civilisation advances proportionately to knowledge transfer and human collaboration. Quick brains facilitate this, therefore so-called 'attention deficit disorder' among youngsters is a healthy indication that civilisation continues to progress, which is gr8. See the generational theory model.

GAK

God Alone Knows. Originally British First World War doctor's shorthand on a traumatised soldier's medical report for shell-shock or other nervous disorder (this prior to any official recognition of nervous condition resulting from months or years active service under fire and bombardment). Nowadays GAK serves as an incredulous reponse to any unfathomable question. See also NYDN.

GASP

Group Against Smokers Pollution. Nothing to do with business, but a really great acronym.

GIGO

Garbage In Garbage Out. Originated as a computer metaphor but deserves a much wider exposure. Use freely for any situation at all that involves effort and output (esp. design, recruitment, purchasing, etc.) Variations include CICO = Crap In Crap Out, and SISO, which you'll be able to work out for yourself. (Ack. GJ)

GLM

Good Looking Mum. Healthcare industry shorthand. Less earthy and somewhat more detached than the MILF alternative.

GLAM

Greying, Leisured, Affluent, Married. Another wonderful demographics acronym.

GMC

Garbage Made Carefully. A wonderful example of industrial warfare by acronym (no offence intended). "Lil' som'thing back from the Ford guys...." (Ack S Clory)

GMY

Godt Mitt You. (God be with you) The only Anglo-German hybrid abbreviation I know, used today as a sign-off in certain naval communications, notably still among Swedish vessels. Some believe its origin dates from the 2nd World War, when the message was sent between British and German enemy submarines operating in surface mode, when traditionally they would not engage, other than to communicate their mutual respect through this expression. (Ack Robert Stael Von Holstein) Others possible origins are suggested: That GMY was a greeting between German Wolfpack submarines during WWII who used the mixture of German and English words to confuse the allies; it was a traditional greeting between commercial ships; it stems from old unofficial telegraph code; is was an invention of a Swedish naval officer. Apparently the signal GMY is mentioned in "I nationens intresse", a novel by Jan Guillou. A retired WWII navy officer ascribes the origin of the signal to Christer Kierkegaard, who died 1999. There is apparently no mention of GMY in British or German signal books from WWII. (Ack Pieter Kuiper) If you can read Swedish these's more about GMY here.

GOAT

Greatest Of All Time. An acronym from the sporting commentators' book of superlatives, and transferable to all. Everyone can be GOAT at what they do and who they are. An alternative and related meaning for GOAT, as referenced by positive thinking writer Douglas Miller, is Goals, Objectives, Aims, Targets. In his excellent book about positive thinking, Miller uses the metaphor of 'herding' your GOAT's to explain the importance of organising personal activities so that they are focused on clear meaningful outputs, and in this respect there is a certain resonance between both GOAT acronym interpretations: decide what you want to be great at and then organise your plans accordingly.

GBC

General Body Crumble. (ODSA) Healthcare acronym to describe an elderly person with no specific diagnosis, but just generally deteriorating. (ack ET)

GOCO

Government Owned, Contractor Operated. An admission by government that they have the expertise to run the country (supposedly) but not anything as practical as a hot-dog stall.

GOFER

Genial Old Farts Enjoying Retirement. Super demographics acronym, allegedly originally seen on the back of a caravan touring Australia; now much used at retirement parties. Alternative meaning in similar context is Genial Old Fisherman Enjoying Recreation. (Ack LA)

GOK

God Only Knows. (ODSA) Apparently a popular healthcare diagnosis from many years ago, used especially on bank holidays/weekends, after midnight or when there was an important football match on TV. After a very quick visit to A&E the junior doctor would diagnose GOK and admit the patient to a ward, often adding LTNWIO (let the nurses work it out). Such patients not infrequently later had an ERCP. (ack ET)

GOLF

Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden. For chauvinists everywhere. Especially at the golf club. This is a bacronym, not the origin of the word golf. (Ack C Judd)

GOMER

Get Out of My Emergency Room. (ODSA) Abbreviation used on ungrateful, unworthy patient's notes; another superb contribution from LA nurses. (Ack KT)

GOSPA

Goals, Objectives, Strategies, Plans, Activities. A simple blueprint and order of thinking for business planning of any sort, even for large complex challenges and entire businesses. (Thanks Chris Starke)

GPO

Good for Parts Only. Healthcare acronym. Not the most optimistic diagnosis.

GROLIES

Guardian Reader Of Limited Intelligence, Ethnic Skirt. (ODSA) See FLK and other ODSA's. Use with care if you must use is at all, and whilst not necessarily recommended, there is a potential application for explaining the more technical aspects of customer profiling.

GROW

Goals, Reality, Options, Will. A maxim from the life-coaching industry, which makes a lot of sense, and is relevant to any situation that requires realistic objectives to be established, and then the planning and determination to achieve them.

GUBU

Grotesque, Unbelievable, Bizarre, and Unprecedented. GUBU is a sort of maxim of political and corporate infamy, effectively invented by Charles, J Haughey, Taoiseach of Ireland (Prime Minister) for three separate terms between 1979-92. Charles Haughey became embroiled in several outrageous scandals related to abuse of his position and financial affairs, and when questioned on one occasion prior to his eventual fall from grace he responded that the accusations were "...grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre, and unprecedented..." GUBU has since become a popular acronym in Ireland, and it is listed here because the underlying meaning and message is obviously transferable to all sorts of corporate and political so-called leaders, who abuse their power and insult the intelligence and tolerance of ordinary people, and then shamelessly deny their shortcomings and deceit with the GUBU defence. (Ack S Doherty)

GWR

Goes When Ready. A 'bacronym' popular in the days of the original Great Western Railway (which makes it over 50 years old - see full entry in corporanyms section) and of course transferable to many situations and people which act when ready and not before. As such GWR is a novel way to describe or present a personality or system which cannot be moved or changed without suitable preparation and patience. GWR people tend to be process and detail oriented. GWR situations tend to be big complex systems or networks (large old organizations and institutions) with lots of entrenched practices and attitudes.

HARTL

(This is now in the corporate backronyms 'corporanyms' list)

HASELL

Height, Airframe, Security, Engine, Location, Lookout. Checklist system popular in private pilot licence training for stall recovery and also used prior to aerobatics.

HCM

Human Capital Management. Arguably the same as HRM (Human Resources Management), although many (especially in the HCM field) would disagree, pointing to various 'new' HCM components linked to such terms as 'new economy', but which strictly speaking could be covered simply by a modern view of HRM. As with many labels, differences between HRM and HCM largely depend on your own situation and interpretation. If it suits your context/audience to differentiate between traditional HRM and more open and progressive methods (HCM) for managing people within an organization, then using the HCM title might bertter emphasise the difference or change you are aiming to achieve. If are studying modern HR practices and methods then again you will tend to find such ideas being presented under the HCM heading. But don't be kidded that the label itself changes anything. Good HRM will always be better than crap HCM. The use of a new title doesn't automatically ensure a successful initiative or implementation. On a more specific point, you will see the word 'Reporting' commonly appended to the Human Capital term, which indicates the additional emphasis on analysis and accountability that perhaps most distinguishes HCM from the traditional HRM in practice, although there is nothing to prevent well run Human Resources activities enabling and generating just the same reporting needs and outputs. What these things are called is not the issue - it's what actually goes on that matters. Cynics would say that HCM is not so much a different field, it's more a different way to sell more services, books, training, and the like. The HCM term has arisen in recent years, as new buzzwords and abbreviations tend to, when sufficient people embrace the idea that a new approach is warranted or opportune, in which case a new brand or packaging usually happens. How long the HCM expression lasts, and the notion that it is very different really from modern Human Resources Management, remains to be seen. As ever, it's not the label, but the precise definition and practice that counts. That said, if anyone would like to suggest any aspect of HCM that is not possible under HRM, please feel free, and I'll gladly publish the comments, or better still put together some sort of matrix by which the two terms can usefully be compared.

HEW

High Earning Worker. Demographic acronym, representing the UK's 534,000 people who earn more than £100,000 per household and yet re

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A3

A2O

A2HS

AAA

AAAA

ABC

ABCD

ACORN

ADIDAS

AEIOU DDD

AFOL

AGA

AHOYA

AKA

ALITALIA

AOX3

ART

ASK

ATNA

2BC/2

BBSS or B2S2

B2B

BANANA

BASIC

BDU

BENDWIMP

BIAT

BLACPU

BOAC

BOBFOC

BOHOF

BOSCARDET

BPO

BRIC

BTP

BTW

BUMFFPICHH

BVA

BWS

BYOB

CADET

CAP

CASH

CHINA

CLAMPS

COBOL

CRS

CSN

CSR

CT

CTD

DELTA

DIAGEO

DINA

DISFOB

DONFI

DRIB

DRIVE

DRT

DRTTTT

DUTCHIE

E&OE

EBITDA

EDINBURGH

EGYPT

ERCP

ESO

2FC/2

F11K

BBSS or B²S²