13 Internet Slangs with Unexpected Alternate Meanings
Thanks to Mashable for these ineffable internet homonyms. You may have thought you were using a three-letter acronym to say something simple, but it turns out to have a secondary meaning that you didn't intend.
| You wrote | But it also means |
| LOL: laughing out loud | Little old lady, shorthand used by doctors. |
|
BRB: be right back |
Big Red Button, an important, non-descript button associated with a power, reset, detonation, self-destruction, emergency shut-down, or ejection switch. |
| IDK: I don't know | “Ident-A-Kid,” the largest child-identification program in the United States. |
| BFF: best friends forever | Binary File Format, a procedure for storing computer files encoded in binary code. |
| OMG: Oh my God! | Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs. One of the most notorious OMGs in America is the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, founded in 1935. |
| PLZ: please |
Known in aviation as the airport code for the Port Elizabeth Airport in South Africa, which recently saw increased traffic due to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. |
|
CYA: see ya |
Cover your ass |
| BTW: by the way | British Traditional Wicca, the Neo-Pagan religion Wicca that has origins in the New Forest area of England. |
| FML: F*ck My Life, a popular site for telling screwed up life stories | Family and Medical Leave |
| DOS: disk operating system | Dreaded Orange Spots, which have been plaguing soap-makers for ages, and apparently no one really knows why they show up |
| ROFL: rolling on the floor laughing | Clan 52 of Medievia, better known as “Rogues Of the Forbidden Legion. |
| THX: thanks | THX sound system, created by Tomlinson Holman for the third Star Wars film, to ensure optimal sound quality. |
| BC: because | Before Christ |
LOL often means (at least in the UK) "lots of love". I know many people who end their texts to loved ones this way.
So when they get messages from more internetty folks saying lol it kind of takes them aback...
Ian
LOL. Now I know whats ROFL means. Thanks for this list and mashable too. My friends always pm me about ROFL... and i just don't get it.