An acronym is a word formed from the initial letters of another set of words, which it represents. This might be a motto, or the name of an organisation.
In Nigeria, acronyms are what we have, instead of efficiency:
NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation),
PHCN (Power Holding Company of Nigeria; formerly NEPA, or No Electric Power Again. Sorry, National Electric Power Authority),
EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission).
WTF. And I don’t mean World Trade Federation.
Big, important-sounding sets of initials, that act as a cover for big, important-sounding organisations. That do very little.
Still, the letters look nice, when they’re painted up on logos. And displayed on the side of the smart four-wheel drive vehicles they all seem to use.
Acronyms.
I’ve scoured the globe (virtually), to bring you some choice ones. Some are fun; some are just plain silly. Some actually refer to real organistions. I’ll let you decide which.
ATM: At The Moment / Automatic Teller Machine / Another Technical Mistake
BEKTTU: Be Excessively Kind To The Undersized [See also Save The Children]
CIO: Chief Information Officer / Cut It Out
DOS: Defunct Operating System / Denial Of Service
EIF: Exercise In Futility
FUBAR: F***ked / Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition / Repair
GSHIWMP: Giggling So Hard I Wet My Pants
HLVB: Hasta La Vista, Baby
ISDN: International Standard Book Number / It Still Does Nothing
JLA: Justice League of America / Junior Lifeguards Association
KIT: Keep In Touch
LOL: Laughing Out Loud
MBA: Masters of Business Administration / Mediocre But Arrogant
NMI: No Middle Initial
OBE: Order of the British Empire / Overtaken By Events
PUKE: Parents United against Krusty’s Evil [TV, The Simpson's]
QUANGO: QUasi Autonomous Non-Governmental Organisation
RHIP: Rank Has Its Privileges
SNAFU: Situation Normal All F***ked Up
TA: Target Acquisition / Teaching Assistant / Territorial Army
UFO: Unidentified Flying Object / United Farmers of Ontario
VSAT: Very Small Aperture Terminal
WTF: World Trade Federation [What The --?]
XYZ: eXamine Your Zipper
YABA: Yet Another Bloody Acronym
ZOPFAN: Zone Of Peace, Freedom, And Neutrality
GGN. [Gotta Go Now].
P.E.A.C.E.