Internet Chat Acronyms - "Shorthand"
Internet Chat Acronyms -
"Shorthand"
Used with IM (Instant Messenger), Chat Rooms, Email, etc
We all know what LOL means (Laugh Out Loud), but there are a ton of others and no one knows them all. Of course, it is best to only use the common ones. The whole idea is to lessen the number of keystrokes, while at the same time conveying messages that the person on the receiving end can understand. So don't overuse these.
These acronyms were developed automatically, in a natural progression, by Users !! No agency, or company came up with these. Here we have included two lists - the Commonly Used Acronyms (these are the ones you can use and expect any Internet savvy user to understand), and the Full Internet Acronym List :
NOTE: there are groups of chat users, especially the kids, who have developed entire new sets !! Not included here, of course.
Commonly Used Internet Acronyms
| Acronym | Meaning |
| 4ever | Forever |
| AFK | Away From Keyboard |
| AKA or a.k.a. | Also Known As |
| ASAP | As Soon As Possible |
| B4 | Before |
| BFD | Big F***ing Deal |
| BFR | Big F***ing Router |
| BF* | Big F***ing "anything" (BFR, BFD, etc) |
| BTW | By The Way |
| CYA | Cover Your Ass |
| CYL | See You Later |
| EOM | End Of Message |
| FIFO | First-In First-Out |
| FILO | First-In Last-Out |
| FOAD | F*** Off And Die |
| FWIW | For What It's Worth |
| FYI | For Your Information |
| GG | Good Game (or) Gotta Go |
| GL | Good Luck |
| GR8 | Great |
| GRRRR | it means Growling |
| GTG | Got To Go |
| IM | Instant Messaging |
| IMHO | In My Humble Opinion |
| IMO | In My Opinion |
| KISS | Keep It Simple Stupid |
| L8R | Later |
| LIFO | Last In First Out |
| LILO | Last-In Last-Out |
| LMAO | Laughing My Ass Off |
| LMFAO | Laughing My F***ing Ass Off |
| LOL | Laughing Out Loud -or- Lots of Luck (or Love) |
| LTNS | Long Time No See |
| MOTD | Message Of The Day |
| MYOB | Mind Your Own Business |
| N/A | Not Applicable -or- Not Affiliated |
| NAZ | Name, Address, Zip (also means Nasdaq) |
| NBD | No Big Deal |
| NFW | No F***ing Way |
| NG | New Game |
| NIMBY | Not In My Back Yard |
| NM | Never Mind |
| NMP | Not My Problem |
| NOYB | None Of Your Business |
| NP | No Problem |
| OEM | Original Equipment Manufacturer |
| OIC | Oh, I see |
| OMG | Oh My God |
| OS | Operating System |
| PLS | Please |
| R&D | Research & Development |
| R&R | Rest & Relaxation |
| ROTFL | Rolling On The Floor Laughing |
| ROTFLMAO | Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Ass Off |
| SOL | Sh** Out of Luck |
| SOP | Standard Operating Procedure (Same Old Poo) |
| SRO | Standing Room Only |
| TBA | To Be Advised or To Be Announced |
| TBC | To Be Continued |
| TBD | To Be Decided |
| THX or TX or THKS | Thanks |
| TIA | Thanks In Advance |
| VM | Voice Mail |
| WB | Welcome Back |
| WTB | Want To Buy |
| WTF | What The F*** |
| WTG | Way To Go! |
| WYSIWYG | What You See Is What You Get |
| YMMV | Your Mileage May Vary |
The Full Internet Acronym List
| Acronym | Meaning |
| 2B or not 2B | To Be Or Not To Be |
| 4ever | Forever |
| 86 | Out Of or Over |
| A/S/L | Age/Sex/Location |
| AFAIC | As Far As I'm Concerned |
| AFAIK | As Far As I Know |
| AFK | Away From Keyboard |
| AIAMU | And I'm A Monkey's Uncle |
| AISI | As I See It |
| AKA or a.k.a. | Also Known As |
| AMBW | All My Best Wishes |
| ANFAWFOWS | And Now For A Word Word From Our Web Sponsor |
| AOAS | All Of A Sudden |
| AOB | Abuse Of Bandwidth |
| AP | Apple Pie |
| ASAFP | As Soon As "Friggin" Possible |
| ASAP | As Soon As Possible |
| ATST | At The Same Time |
| AWGTHTGTTA | Are We Going To Have To Go Through This Again |
| AWGTHTGTTSA | Are We Going To Have To Go Through This Sh** Again |
| AYSOS | Are You Stupid Or Something |
| AYTMTB | And You're Telling Me This Because? |
| B4 | Before |
| B4N | Bye For Now |
| BBFBBM | Body By Fisher, Brains by Mattel |
| BBIAB | Be Back In A Bit |
| BBIAF | Be Back In A Few |
| BBL | Be Back Later |
| BBN | Bye Bye Now |
| BCBS | Big Company, Big School |
| BCNU | Be Seein' You |
| BDC | Big Dumb Company or Big Dot Com |
| BDN | Big Damn Number |
| BFD | Big F***ing Deal |
| BFN | Bye For Now |
| BHOF | Bald Headed Old Fart |
| BIF | Basis In Fact or Before I Forget |
| BITD | Back In The Day |
| BM | Byte Me |
| BMOTA | Byte Me On The Ass |
| BNF | Big Name Fan |
| BOHICA | Bend Over Here It Comes Again |
| BR | Bathroom |
| BRB | Be Right Back |
| BRT | Be Right There |
| BS | Big Smile |
| BT | Byte This |
| BTA | But Then Again or Before The Attacks |
| BTDT | Been There Done That |
| BTSOOM | Beats The Sh** Out Of Me |
| BTW | By The Way |
| BTWBO | Be There With Bells On |
| BWDIK | But What Do I Know? |
| BWO | Black, White or Other |
| C/P | Cross Post |
| CIAO | Goodbye (in Italian) |
| CID | Consider It Done |
| CIS | CompuServe Information Service |
| CMF | Count My Fingers |
| CofS | Church of Scientology |
| CRAFT | Can't Remember a F***ing Thing |
| CRAP | Cheap Redundant Assorted Products |
| CRAWS | Can't Remember Anything Worth A Sh** |
| CSL | Can't Stop Laughing |
| CTC | Choking The Chicken |
| CUL8R | See You Later |
| CWYL | Chat With You Later |
| CYA | Cover Your Ass |
| CYL | See You Later |
| DBEYR | Don't Believe Everything You Read |
| DD | Due Diligence |
| DDD | Direct Distance Dial |
| DETI | Don't Even Think It |
| DGA | Don't Go Anywhere |
| DGT | Don't Go There |
| DHYB | Don't Hold Your Breath |
| DILLIGAD | Do I Look Like I Give A Damn |
| DILLIGAS | Do I Look Like I Give A Sh** |
| DKDC | Don't Know Don't Care |
| DLTM | Don't Lie To Me |
| DQYDJ | Don't Quit Your Day Job |
| DRIB | Don't Read If Busy |
| DWYM | Does What You Mean |
| DYSTSOTT | Did You See The Size Of That Thing |
| EG | Evil Grin |
| EOM | End Of Message |
| ESO | Equipment Smarter than Operator |
| EWI | E-mailing While Intoxicated |
| F2F | |
| FAB | Features Attributes Benefits |
| FBKS | Failure Between Keyboard and Seat |
| FE | Fatal Error |
| FF&PN | Fresh Fields and Pastures New |
| FO | F*** Off |
| FOAF | Friend Of A Friend |
| FRED | F*#king Ridiculous Electronic Device |
| FTASB | Faster Than A Speeding Bullet |
| FTL | Faster Than Light |
| FTTB | For The Time Being |
| FUBAR | F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition |
| FUBB | F***ed Up Beyond Belief |
| FUD | Fear, Uncertainty, and Disinformation |
| FWIW | For What It's Worth |
| FYA | For Your Amusement |
| FYI | For Your Information |
| FYIFV | F*#k You I'm Fully Vested |
| FYM | For Your Misinformation |
| GAL | Get A Life |
| GG | Good Game (or) Gotta Go |
| GIGO | Garbage In, Garbage Out |
| GIWIST | Gee, I Wish I'd Said That |
| GL | Good Luck |
| GLYASDI | God Loves You And So Do I |
| GMTA | Great Minds Think Alike |
| GMTFT | Great Minds Think For Themselves |
| GNBLFY | Got Nothing But Love For You |
| GR&D | Grinning Running And Ducking |
| GR8 | Great |
| GRRRR | it means Growling |
| GSOAS | Go Sit On A Snake |
| GTG | Got To Go |
| GTGB | Got To Go, Bye |
| GTGP | Got To Go Pee |
| GTH | Go To Hell |
| GTSY | Glad To See Ya |
| GYPO | Get Your Pants Off |
| HAGO | Have A Good One |
| HAK | Hugs And Kisses |
| HB | Hurry Back |
| HD | Hold |
| HHO1/2K | Ha Ha, Only Half Kidding |
| HHOK | Ha Ha, Only Kidding |
| HIOOC | Help! I'm Out of Coffee |
| HOHA | HOllywood HAcker |
| HTH | Hope This (or That) Helps |
| HUA | Heads Up Ace |
| HUYA | Head Up Your A** |
| IAC | In Any Case |
| IAE | In Any Event |
| IAITS | It's All In The Subject |
| IANAC | I Am Not A Crook |
| IANAL | I Am Not A Lawyer |
| IBT | In Between Technology |
| IBTD | I Beg To Differ |
| IC | In Character |
| ID10T | Idiot |
| IDGAF | I Don't Give A F*** |
| IDGI | I Don't Get It |
| IDK | I Don't Know |
| IDKY | I Don't Know You |
| IDST | I Didn't Say That |
| IDTS | I Don't Think So |
| IEF | It's Esther's Fault |
| IFAB | I Found A Bug |
| IFU | I F***ed Up |
| IGGP | I Gotta Go Pee |
| IIIO | Intel Inside, Idiot Outside |
| IIMAD | If It Makes An(y) Difference |
| IIRC | If I Remember Correctly |
| IIWM | If It Were Me |
| ILICISCOMK | I Laughed, I Cried, I Spat/Spilt Coffee/Crumbs/Coke On My Keyboard |
| ILY | I Love You |
| IM | Instant Messaging |
| IMHO | In My Humble Opinion |
| IMNSHO | In My Not So Humble Opinion |
| IMO | In My Opinion |
| INMP | It's Not My Problem |
| INPO | In No Particular Order |
| IOH | I'm Outta Here |
| IOW | In Other Words |
| IRL | In Real Life |
| ISS | I Said So |
| ITM | In The Money |
| IYKWIM | If You Know What I Mean |
| IYO | In Your Opinion |
| IYSS | If You Say So |
| J/C | Just Checking |
| J/K | Just Kidding! |
| J/W | Just Wondering |
| JAFO | Just Another F***ing Onlooker |
| JOOTT | Just One Of Those Things |
| KFY | Kiss For You |
| KISS | Keep It Simple Stupid |
| KIT | Keep In Touch |
| KMA | Kiss My Ass |
| KMRIA | Kiss My Royal Irish Arse |
| KWIM | Know What I Mean |
| KYPO | Keep Your Pants On |
| L8R | Later |
| LAQ | Lame Ass Quote |
| LD | Long Distance |
| LDTTWA | Let's Do The Time Warp Again |
| LIFO | Last In First Out |
| LLTA | Lots And Lots Of Thunderous Applause |
| LMAO | Laughing My Ass Off |
| LMK | Let Me Know |
| LOL | Laughing Out Loud -or- Lots of Luck (or Love) |
| LOPSOD | Long On Promises, Short On Delivery |
| LRF | Little Rubber Feet |
| LTIC | Laughing 'Til I Cry |
| LTNS | Long Time No See |
| LYL | Love Ya Lots |
| LYLAS | Love You Like A Sister |
| M8 or M8s | Mate or Mates |
| MFD | Multi-Function Device |
| MfG | Mit freundlichen Gruessen |
| MHOTY | My Hat's Off To You |
| MM | Market Maker |
| MOO | Mud, Object-Oriented |
| MorF | Male or Female? |
| MOTD | Message Of The Day |
| MOTSS | Members Of The Same Sex |
| MTFBWY | May The Force Be With You |
| MWBRL | More Will Be Revealed Later |
| MYOB | Mind Your Own Business |
| N/A | Not Applicable -or- Not Affiliated |
| N/T | No Text |
| NAK | Nursing At Keyboard |
| NAZ | Name, Address, Zip (also means Nasdaq) |
| NBD | No Big Deal |
| NBIF | No Basis In Fact |
| NCG | New College Graduate |
| NFI | No F***ing Idea |
| NFW | No F***ing Way |
| NG | New Game |
| NIFOC | Nude In Front Of The Computer |
| NIM | No Internal Message |
| NIMBY | Not In My Back Yard |
| NIMQ | Not In My Queue |
| NM | Never Mind |
| NMP | Not My Problem |
| NOYB | None Of Your Business |
| NP | No Problem |
| NQOCD | Not Quite Our Class Dear |
| NRG | Energy |
| NRN | No Reply Necessary |
| NYCFS | New York City Finger Saluet |
| OAUS | On An Unrelated Subject |
| OBTW | Oh By The Way |
| OEM | Original Equipment Manufacturer |
| OIC | Oh, I see |
| OMDB | Over My Dead Body |
| OMG | Oh My Gosh |
| OMIK | Open Mouth, Insert Keyboard |
| ONNA | Oh No, Not Again |
| OOC | Out Of Character |
| OOTB | Out Of The Box -or- Out Of The Blue |
| OOTC | Obligatory On Topic Comment |
| OS | Operating System |
| OT | Off Topic |
| OTOH | On the Other Hand |
| OWTTE | Or Words To That Effect |
| OZ | stands for: Australia |
| PANS | Pretty Awesome New Stuff |
| PDOMA | Pulled Directly Out Of My Ass |
| PEBCAK | Problem Exists Between Chair And Keyboard |
| PIMP | Peeing In My Pants |
| PITA | Pain In The Ass |
| PLS | Please |
| PMFJI | Pardon Me For Jumping In |
| PO | Piss Off |
| PONA | Person Of No Account |
| POV | Point of View |
| R&D | Research & Development |
| R&R | Rest & Relaxation |
| RAT | Remote(ly) Activated Trojan |
| RBTL | Read Between The Lines |
| RFR | Really F*#king Rich |
| RFS | Really F*#king Soon |
| RKBA | Right to Keep and Bear Arms |
| RL | Real Life |
| RLF | Real Life Friend |
| RMLB | Read My Lips Baby |
| RMMM | Read My Mail Man! |
| RN | Right Now! |
| ROTFL | Rolling On The Floor Laughing |
| ROTFLMAO | Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Ass Off |
| ROTM | Right On The Money |
| RSN | Real Soon Now |
| RTBS | Reason To Be Single |
| RTFM | Read The F***ing Manual |
| RTK | Return To Keyboard |
| RTM or RTFM | Read The Manual - or - Read The F*#king Manual |
| RU | Are You? |
| RYO | Roll Your Own |
| S2R | Send To Receive |
| S4L | Spam For Life |
| SBTA | Sorry, Being Thick Again |
| SF | Surfer Friendly |
| SH | Sh** Happens |
| SITCOMs | Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage |
| SITD | Still In The Dark |
| SLIRK | Smart Little Rich Kid |
| SNAFU | Situation Normal, All F***ed Up |
| SNAG | Sensitive New Age Guy |
| SNERT | Snotty Nosed Egotistical Rotten Teenager |
| SO | Significant Other |
| SOL | Sh** Out of Luck |
| SOP | Standard Operating Procedure |
| SorG | Straight or Gay? |
| SRO | Standing Room Only |
| SSDD | Same Sh** Different Day |
| STFU | Shut The F*** Up |
| STM | Spank The Monkey |
| STYS | Speak To You Soon |
| SUYF | Shut Up You Fool |
| SWAG | Scientific Wild Ass Guess |
| SWAK | Sent (or Sealed) With A Kiss |
| SWDYT | So What Do You Think? |
| TAH | Take A Hike |
| TANSTAAFL | There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch |
| TARFU | Things Are Really F***ed Up |
| TBA | To Be Advised |
| TBC | To Be Continued |
| TDTM | Talk Dirty To Me |
| TEOTWAWKI | The End Of The World As We Know It |
| TFH | Thread From Hell |
| TFN | Thanks For Nothing -or- Til Further Notice |
| THX or TX or THKS | Thanks |
| TIA | Thanks In Advance |
| TIAIL | Think I Am In Love |
| TIC | Tongue In Cheek |
| TLA | Three Letter Acronym |
| TLGO | The List Goes On |
| TM | Trust Me |
| TMI | Too Much Information |
| TMTOWTDI | There's More Than One Way To Do It |
| TNA | Temporarily Not Available |
| TOM | Tomorrow |
| TPC | The Phone Company |
| TPTB | The Powers That Be |
| TSR | Totally Stuck in RAM |
| TTFN | Ta Ta For Now |
| TTT | That's The Ticket -or- To The Top |
| TTYL | Talk To You Later |
| TWHAB | This Won't Hurt A Bit |
| TY | Thank You |
| TYVM | Thank You Very Much |
| unPC | unPolitically Correct |
| URYY4M | You Are Too Wise For Me |
| VC | Venture Capital |
| VFM | Value For Money |
| VM | Voice Mail |
| VRBS | Virtual Reality Bull Sh*t |
| WAG | Wild Ass Guess |
| WAI | What An Idiot |
| WAMBAM | Web Application Meets Brick And Mortar |
| WB | Welcome Back |
| WCA | Who Cares Anyway |
| WDYS | What Did You Say? |
| WDYT | What Do You Think? |
| WE | Whatever |
| WEG | Wicked Evil Grin |
| WG | Wicked Grin |
| WGAFF | Who Gives A Flying F*** |
| WIIFM | What's In It For Me? |
| WIT | Wordsmith In Training |
| WITFITS | What in the F*** is this Sh** |
| WOG | Wise Old Guy |
| WOMBAT | Waste Of Money, Brains And Time |
| WRT | With Regard To |
| WTB | Want To Buy |
| WTF | What The F*** |
| WTG | Way To Go! |
| WTSDS | Where The Sun Don't Shine |
| WYP | What's Your Problem? |
| WYRN | What's Your Real Name? |
| WYS | Whatever You Say |
| WYSIWYG | What You See Is What You Get |
| WYSLPG | What You See Looks Pretty Good |
| WYT | Whatever You Think |
| YA | Yet Another |
| YA yaya | Yet Another Ya-Ya (as in yo-yo) |
| YACC | Yet Another Calendar Company |
| YAFIYGI | You Asked For It You Got It |
| YDKM | You Don't Know Me |
| YGBK | You Gotta Be Kiddin' |
| YIC | Yours In Christ |
| YMMV | Your Mileage May Vary |
| YNK | You Never Know |
| YOYO | You're On Your Own |
| YR | Yeah Right |
| YSYD | Yeah, Sure You Do |
| YTTT | You Telling The Truth? |
| YYSSW | Yeah Yeah Sure Sure Whatever |