The jury is still out on whether the seconds have added up to much or not, but linguists have had a field day studying online lingual behaviors and their effects on offline writing and speech.
Nevertheless, it's interesting to look at how pre-Internet acronyms and abbreviations like "LOL" have taken on new meanings ("laughing out loud") with the introduction of widely popular Internet idioms.
Below, you'll find a list of 13 Internet acronyms and slang terms with unexpected alternative meanings, ranging from downright unpredictable to hilariously ironic. Add your favorites in the comments below.
1. LOL
Before netizens had us "laughing out loud," there were little old ladies participating in less bone-tickling happenings. LOL in the medical world identifies a patient as a Little Old Lady. Sometimes, in lieu of actual medical terminology, physicians use shorthands like LOLFDGB (Little Old Lady, Fall Down, Go Boom) and LOLINAD (Little Old Lady In No Apparent Distress) on patient records to describe the health statuses of hospitalized elderly females.
A study published by Peter E. Dans, MD, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHMS) in 2002, looked at the use of and perceived usefulness of pejorative medical terms among JHMS graduating seniors. While the use of such terms are well documented, only 2 to 13 percent of surveyed medical classes considered usage of terms like LOLINAD and LOLFDGB to be helpful, whereas 30 to 50 percent of classes considered it harmful. Interestingly enough, such terms were used frequently for self-destructive or abusive patients.
2. BRB
BRB (Be Right Back) is one of the more polite online abbreviations; respectfully letting fellow chatters know that you'll be taking a brief vacation from your keyboard.
Traditionally, however, BRB refers to a Big Red Button, an important, non-descript button associated with a power, reset, detonation, self-destruction, emergency shut-down, or ejection switch. The only real rule for the BRB is "do not press," unless it's an extremely dire situation, of course.
One of the most interesting uses occurred during the Cold War, when the BRB was used in fictional writing to describe a device that could launch doomsday, an all-out nuclear catastrophe.
Other Big Red Buttons have been used in car ignition, computing and cartooning. The BRB has even been featured in an iPhone app.
3. IDK
Does anyone remember going to Wal-Mart or the local fair as kid to get your fingerprints recorded for an Ident-A-Kid card? I certainly do. My little brother and I felt like super stars getting our fingerprints taken for our very first ID card, complete with photo.
It's ironic that IDK once stood for "Ident-A-Kid," the largest child-identification program in the United States, but is now a popular acronym for "I don't know." Of all programs, I'd vouch to say Ident-A-Kid is definitely in the know!
4. BFF
For all the teenyboppers out there, BFF will always mean "Best Friends Forever." But had you asked a computer programmer in the late 1980s or early 1990s, they may have said that BFF referred to Binary File Format, a procedure for storing computer files encoded in binary.
Had you mentioned BFF to any piano pop fanboy in the 1990s, you'd likely get a comment about the musical wonders of Ben Folds Five and his trademark glasses.
5. OMG
OMG is an Internet acronym used to express shock or amazement and can be translated as, "Oh my God/gosh/goodness," depending on your comfortableness with using the Lord's name in vain. But that's not the only thing to be shocked about. Law enforcement officers use OMG to refer to "Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs." One of the most notorious OMGs in America is the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, founded in 1935.
OMGs are seen as such a threat that organizations such as the International Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Investigators Association (IOMGIA) exist purely to train law enforcement officers on dealing with these biker gangs.
6. PLZ
Used online to quickly say "please," PLZ is also well-known in aviation as the airport code for the Port Elizabeth Airport in South Africa. The airport was recently upgraded to accommodate the increased traffic due to the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
7. CYA
Usually, the Internet version of an acronym is way more vulgar than the "real life" application. Not this time. CYA in online speak is a pleasant misspelling of "see ya," but for politicians, physicians, journalists and law enforcement officers, CYA is a sneaky acronym for "Cover Your Ass."
Some CYA tactics include copying a boatload of people on all e-mails, getting signatures for everything, avoiding commitment dates, and refusing to answer complicated questions.
Check out the document above, with the conspicuous subject of "CYA." This document was used by CBS News on a 60 Minutes broadcast presented by Dan Rather about President George W. Bush's service in the Air National Guard and so-called failure to live up to requirements. The authenticity of the document, along with a few others, has been highly criticized, and the debacle has been called the "Killian documents controversy," after Bush's commander, the late Lieutenant Colonel Jerry B. Killian.
8. BTW
FYI, BTW isn't just short for "by the way." It's also an acronym for British Traditional Wicca. BTW refers to branches of the Neo-Pagan religion Wicca that have origins in the New Forest area of England.
The traditions of Gardnerian and Alexandria Wicca follow the initiatory lineage of Gerald Brosseau Gardner and are collectively known as British Traditional Wicca, or BTW for short.
9. FML
Before FML (F*ck My Life) became a popular site for telling screwed up life stories, FML stood for something much more family-friendly: Family and Medical Leave. FML made a splash in 1993 when the Family and Medical Leave Act was signed into law by President Bill Clinton to "provide guidance on unpaid family and medical leave to employees."
10. DOS
The original use of DOS (Disk Operating System) is already a bit antiquated, but there's something about that black DOS screen that just brings back great memories -- namely contracting dysentery, buying family members and losing an ox on The Oregon Trail.
If you thought that was old-school, here's something even more ancient: DOS once stood for Dreaded Orange Spots. These spots have been plaguing soap-makers for ages, and apparently no one really knows why they show up. Possible theories include using soft oils, incomplete curing, high humidity, over superfatting or oxidation, according to Ersilia Vitale, an experienced soapmaker.
11. ROFL
ROFL is currently known as "Rolling on Floor Laughing," one step above LOL. However, back in the day ROFL was also the acronym used by Clan 52 of Medievia, better known as "Rogues Of the Forbidden Legion.
Medievia is an online, fantasy-themed, text-based game founded in 1992. ROFL made its appearance in 1998 and officially disbanded in 2001, to the disappointment of the Medievia community and their clan leader, Tharghan.
Seriously, I couldn't make this stuff up.
12. THX
Are you a Star Wars fan? Or maybe just a fan of George Lucas and his production company, Lucasfilm? If so, you'll be happy to know that THX isn't just shorthand for lazy people typing "thanks," it's also the acronym for Tomlinson Holman's eXperiment, an audio spin-off of Lucasfilm. THX was created by Tomlinson Holman for the third Star Wars film, to ensure optimal sound quality.
If you've been to a movie lately, you've undoubtedly heard the "deep note" crescendo. Check out the video above for a memory jog.
13. BC
Before there was a shorthand for "because," there was Christ. Even before that, there was BC, or "Before Christ," an English language acronym demarcating the epoch before he was born. Enough said.
And U?
I could go on and on with this list, but I'd rather see what "U" have to say. What are some of your favorite Internet acronyms and slang terms with interesting alternative meanings?
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