EBBOM

While reading the paper, I came across an article which spoke about PLUs. Fortunately, the writer clarified that this meant ‘people like us’ and so the encounter with yet another acronym remained plain sailing. SMS has changed the way we communicate whether we like it or not. Acronyms have become part and parcel of our daily lexicon and even old dogs are learning new ways to bark!

Acronyms are nothing new. From our early math’s lessons we learnt that LCD meant lowest common denominator (though today’s generation will more easily relate to liquid crystal display or, perhaps, life changing direction?) and everyone was enthralled by UFOs while ASAP saw us snapping smartly to attention while receiving instructions. Incidentally, a neat turnaround of an acronym is the poem doing the rounds on the Internet: Always Say A Prayer!

Every newspaper and magazine article is peppered with contractions and while some of them obfuscate others resonate because they sound so apt. And as long as SMS is the preferred form of communication, we shall come across more wild and weird contractions every now and then. Cryptic codes are enjoying a field day!

And while I am at it, FYI, my favourite contraction of all time is EBBOM: Engage Brain Before Opening Mouth. Now, there’s sage advice.

Enjoy the day!