Jeber Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 Teacher, somebody, bail me out here. I was talking to a friend about the difference between abbreviations and acronyms, when he asked me what an abbreviation that spells a word is called...you know, like CREEP for Commitee to Re-Elect the President. I went blank. There is a word for such a thing. Somewhere in the back of my brain I know what it is, but that doesn't help me now. Any of you fellow word lovers know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marsden11 Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 It's an acronym. Like SNAFU or ASAP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeber Posted November 3, 2003 Author Share Posted November 3, 2003 Right, that's an acronym. But there's a unique term for acronyms that spell out a regular English word...Dads Of Goofy Sons = DOGS or KISS=Keep It Simple, Stupid. That's the term that eludes me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachy Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 A mnemonic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeber Posted November 3, 2003 Author Share Posted November 3, 2003 Close, but that's usually a device, such as a formula or rhyme, used as an aid in remembering.Well, at least I'm feeling less stupid. Or am I guilty of creating forum-wide frustration? Ooops! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachy Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 From the English Language Club ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMSWhat is an abbreviation?Abbreviation is a short form of a word or phrase, made by leaving out some of the letters or by using only the first letter of each word.Right, so there are two ways of how to make an abbreviation:(1) leaving out some of the letters (these abbreviations are called shortenings) e.g. Sun. (Sunday), atty. (attorney), etc.(2) using only the first letter of each word (these are called initialisms) e.g. BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)What is an acronym?Acronym is a word composed of the initial letters of the words in a phrase.Great! It sounds like an abbreviation to me. What's the difference then?The difference between abbreviation (initialism) and acronym is thatabbreviation is only a short form, i.e. it is pronounced letter by letteracronym is like a word itself, i.e. it is pronounced as one word (not letter by letter)Example:BBC is an abbreviation, because it is pronounced /bi: bi: si:/NATO is an acronym, because it is pronounced /neitou/ (and not /en ei ti: ou/).OK, I see. But are there also short words that can be both abbreviation and acronym? How do I know which is which?Yes, there are short words which are written the same (i.e. exactly the same letters) but we can still tell which one is an abbreviation and which is an acronym - they are pronounced differently.RAM - pronounced as /a:®eiem/ is an abbreviation meaning relative atomic massRAM - pronounced as one word, i.e. /ræm/, is an acronym meaning read only memory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeber Posted November 3, 2003 Author Share Posted November 3, 2003 I really appreciate the effort you're going to on my behalf, but we still aren't there yet. This is a special case when the abbreviation or acronym can be read as a regular word. NATO has no meaning as a stand-alone word, whereas KISS does. Am I making this more clear, or more confusing?Thanks again, folks. This will be my only brain teaser for the week, I promise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachy Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 No, no, I understand your point. However, I still haven't come across anything that answers your question definitively. All my google searches say pretty much the same thing. Will keep looking... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibe98765 Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 I also searched high and low without success. Where do you recall coming across an actual name for what you are describing? If anything, sounds like something that would come up as a Jeopardy category! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marsden11 Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 Initialisms? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibe98765 Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 Initialisms?No, that wouldn't be what Jeber is describing:------------------------------------------Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. INITIALISMS are acronyms of a special kind, abbreviations made up of the initial letters of a phrase: BTU for British Thermal Unit; E.R.A. for Equal Rights Amendment or Earned Run Average. We pronounce initialisms only by saying the names of the letters, not as though they are words. ------------------------------------And for the record:------------------------------------Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. ABBREVIATIONS are variously shortened forms of words: AC for alternating current, CT for Connecticut, no. for number, D.D.S. for Doctor of Dental Surgery, ZIP for zone improvement plan and ZIP code, pro for professional, vet for veteran or veterinarian, Fannie Mae for Federal National Mortgage Association, E.R.A. for Earned Run Average, and sonar for sound navigation ranging illustrate several types. All are pronounced either letter name by letter name (E.R.A., for example, is pronounced EE-AHR-AI) or as spelling pronunciations of what thus become new words: sonar is pronounced SO-NAHR. For the several sorts of abbreviations, see ACRONYMS; APHERESIS; APHESIS; CLIPPING; INITIALISMS. For comment on punctuation, see PERIOD (1). On pronunciation, see SPELLING PRONUNCIATIONS.-------------------------Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. ACRONYMS are pronounceable abbreviations made up of initial letters or initial parts of words in a phrase, as with NASA, for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Some acronyms are slang or are at least relatively Informal (PhysEd, for physical education, for example), but many, such as sonar, the Delmarva peninsula, and OPEC, are now Standard English. The CAT in CAT scan stands for computerized axial tomography and is a convenient abbreviation of a long, low-frequency technological term. These days we seldom establish a new organization without creating for it a phrasal name that yields an easily recognizable and perhaps additionally instructive acronym: for example, MADD for Mothers against Drunk Driving or NOW for the National Organization for Women. One problem: those who use an acronym may forget what its letters stand for. Probably few of us recall the exact phrase that gave us radar: radio detecting and ranging. See ABBREVIATIONS; APHERESIS; CLIPPING; INITIALISMS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Ray Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 Teacher, somebody, bail me out here. I was talking to a friend about the difference between abbreviations and acronyms, when he asked me what an abbreviation that spells a word is called...you know, like CREEP for Commitee to Re-Elect the President. I went blank. There is a word for such a thing. Somewhere in the back of my brain I know what it is, but that doesn't help me now. Any of you fellow word lovers know?What you are describing is an acronym - see definition HERE.Here are three references for the more info:Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Initialisms Second ReferenceThird ReferenceIt seems that an acronym is supposed to be a pronounceable word, but we have allowed it's usage to creep to include initialisms.In the three references I cited above one also says that an acronym may use more than one letter from the words that the acronym expands to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeber Posted November 3, 2003 Author Share Posted November 3, 2003 Acrostic. I think that's it. Still researching, though. Thanks, everyone. I may have to do this again sometime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacher Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 Acrostic:Â A poem or series of lines in which certain letters, usually the first in each line, form a name, motto, or message when read in sequence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 Definition of Acrostic Acrostic (n.) A composition, usually in verse, in which the first or the last letters of the lines, or certain other letters, taken in order, form a name, word, phrase, or motto.(n.) A Hebrew poem in which the lines or stanzas begin with the letters of the alphabet in regular order (as Psalm cxix.). See Abecedarian.(n.) Alt. of Acrostical GLOSSARY OF POETIC TERMS:Acrostic (Greek, `at the tip of the verse'): a word, phrase, or passage spelled out vertically by the first letters of a group of lines in sequence. Sir John Davies' Hymnes of Astraea dedicates 26 acrostic poems to Elizabeth I. Edgar Allan Poe's "Enigma" provides another example. Samuel Johnson's great dictionary (1755) quotes John Dryden: Leave writing plays, and choose for thy command Some peaceful province in acrostick land: There thou may'st wings display, and altars raise, And torture one poor word ten thousand ways. See also telestich. Telestich: spelling out a word, a phrase, or name vertically in sequence down the last letters of verse lines in a poem. See also Acrostic.Hmmmm.... is that what you were looking for Jeber?? <_> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 Acrostic may or may not be it, but .... this is a fun game!Diabolical Acrostic Word Puzzles For Your Abusement And AnnoymentLOL! <_> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeber Posted November 3, 2003 Author Share Posted November 3, 2003 It's the closest I can find, and it sounds familiar...so I'm going with that for now.Don't give me more games to play, Fran. I downloaded Frozen Bubble for Windows last night...40 levels later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 Gee and I thought that game was right up your alley! LOL!Frozen Bubbles ... been playing that on Mandrake ... awesome game! Quite addictive! (thanks Julia LOL! <_> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolanaj Posted November 7, 2003 Share Posted November 7, 2003 I downloaded Frozen Bubble for Windows last night...40 levels later...Hmm.. and just where might some one score such a download Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeber Posted November 7, 2003 Author Share Posted November 7, 2003 Frozen Bubble downloadsLook under "ports" for the Windows version, and get the "easier-to-install" one. And may the gods have mercy on your soul. Highly addictive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolanaj Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 Thanks Jeber, I'm downloading it now. If I don't make it back well I'm lost in Frozen Bubble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeber Posted November 12, 2003 Author Share Posted November 12, 2003 Note to self: Remove link...losing too many members. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 LOL! Good one Jeber! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeber Posted November 12, 2003 Author Share Posted November 12, 2003 Just as I hoped...no one suspects the real purpose of that link... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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