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User Name Thread Name Subject Posted
Pooby BS: Can't run a force without acronyms (29) RE: BS: Can't run a force without acronymns 27 Feb 04


Can't help it, but here's my anal, professional wordsmith side coming to the fore. (Anal side coming to the fore? Does that make me ass-backwards? Oh, never mind...)

Anyway, most of what you cited are abbreviations, not acronyms. Technically speaking, an acronym is an abbreviation that spells a word (like, say "radar"), or at least a pronounceable quasi-word, such as "NASA."

For example, an almost universal cop acronym is SWAT (short for "Special Weapons And Tactics").

The really sad part, as far as beating the language to within an inch of its life, happens when you have a forced, contrived acronym like "USA Patriot Act," where the USA Patriot part stands for (brace yourselves): "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism."

Someone with way too much time on his/her hands came up with that one.

Pooby


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