Words are my thing, okay? Real, full, well-chosen, descriptive, correctly spelt words. I’ve never used “text speak” and spend half my life telling my parents ‘gr8’ is not a legitimate word. It’s the word nerd in me. I can’t help it.
But we now live in a world where speed is of the essence. Especially when we’re doing things online – like commenting and chatting on messenger services. Even I’m quite partial to the occasional ‘LOL’ or well-placed emoji. But I actually had no idea just how many acronyms we use online, how many bits of shorthand there are out there for all the words and ideas we want to convey in our online worlds. We are in just one big hurry to get things said, aren’t we?
But I decided to share what I consider to be the 39 most common shorthand acronyms you’ll find online. Consider this me being helpful. Consider this me relenting a little on my word nerdery. And let’s never speak of this again. Okay?!
IMO/IMHO – In my opinion/In my humble opinion
ICYMI – In case you missed it
WYSIWYG – What you see is what you get
AFAIK – As far as I know
BTW – By the way
FAQ – Frequently asked questions
FWIW – For what it’s worth
FTW – For the win (yes, even this poorly syntaxed phrase has an acronym…)
IDK – I don’t know
LOL – Laugh out loud
ROFL – Rolling on the floor laughing
WTF/WTAF/WTH – What the fuck/What the actual fuck/What the hell (for the non-swearers in the room)
MYOB – Mind your own business
F2F – Face to face
NSFW – Not safe for work
NVM/NM – Nevermind
TMI – Too much information
ASAP – As soon as possible
TTYL – Talk to you later
YOLO – You only live once
TFW – That feeling when
JK – Joke/joking
TBH – To be honest
SMH – Shaking my head
SRSLY – Seriously (ok, less acronym and more sheer laziness…)
IIRC – If I remember/recall correctly
TL;DR – Too long; didn’t read
HTH – Hope this helps
IYKWIM – If you know what I mean
OP – Original post/poster
TY – Thank you
FOMO – Fear of missing out
IKR – I know right
LMAO – Laughing my arse off
RLY – Really (I mean, really?!)
OOTD – Outfit of the day
OMG – Oh my god
OH – Other half/On hand/On hold (ok, now this is getting complicated…)
BRB – Be right back
Now you can be totally safe in the knowledge that you know what all the kids are talking about. At least, this is the stuff they won’t mind you knowing about. There’s a whole lot more out there to wrap your head around!