Confused By All the Internet Lingo?
Are You Confused Enough Yet?
I can remember several years ago when I first began using the internet for playing games online. I had an account with Slingo and Pogo and just loved playing the games there.
As time went by, I finally got brave enough to use the chat since I had come to realize by reading that not everyone online was a monster waiting to stalk you throughout cyberspace. My biggest problem was figuring out just what they heck everyone was saying!
The more I watched the chat, the more I began to catch on to the lingo that was being posted in the chat. It was not unusual for me to have to question what some things meant when I was in conversation with someone. Fortunately, I was in a great room of people that had a lot of patience and all too willing to help me out. Much like the experienced users here at HP.
Some of the most used lingo
I decided since there may be people here who are not as familiar with the chat phrases, I would compile a list to help them to understand what is going on in some of the conversations they may encounter online. Here is my list:
2moro - Tomorrow
2nite - Tonight
BRB - Be Right Back
BTW - By The Way
B4N - Bye For Now
BCNU - Be Seeing You
BFF - Best Friends Forever
CYA - Cover Your A** (general rule of thumb for generations)
DBEYR - Don't Believe Everything You Read
DILLIGAS - Do I Look Like I Give A Sh**
E1- Everyone
FUD - Fear, Uncertainty, and Disinformation (no, not Elmer, but pretty close!)
FWIW - For What It's Worth
GG- Good Going or Good Game
GR8 - Great
GL- Good Luck
GLA- Good Luck All
HAGD- Have A Good Day
HAGE- Have A Good Evening
HAGN- Have A Good Night
HB- Hurry Back
ILY - I Love You
IMHO - In My Humble Opinion (no indication of anyone's profession)
IMO- In My Opinion (not redneck for I'm going to)
IRL - In Real Life
ISO - In Search Of
J/K - Just Kidding
L8R - Later
LMAO - Laughing My A** Off
LOL - Laughing Out Loud -or- Lots Of Love
LYB- Love Ya Bunches
LYLAS - Love You Like A Sister (not the proper name)
MAWOY- May Angels Watch Over You ( my personal favorite since we started this in a game room I used to play in a lot!)
MF- My Friend (and what were you thinking?)
MHOTY - My Hat's Off To You ( no, guys this isn't a great looking woman!)
NIMBY - Not In My Back Yard
NP - No Problem
NUB - it stands for a new person (Bet you thought someone lost a finger?)
OIC - Oh, I See
OMG - Oh My God
OT - Off Topic (not the dirty word in the workforce)
POV - Point Of View
RBTL - Read Between The Lines
ROTFLMAO - Rolling On The Floor Laughing My A** Off
RT - Real Time
RTM - Read The Manual
SH - Sh** Happens (does not mean be quiet anymore)
SITD - Still In The Dark
SOL - Sh** Out of Luck ( not exactly the old card game)
STBY - Sucks To Be You
SWAK - Sealed With A Kiss
TFH - Thread From Hell
THX - Thanks
TLC - Tender Loving Care (some things never change)
TMI - Too Much Information
TTTH- Talk To The Hand
TTYL - Talk To You Later
TY- Thank You (not the beanie babies!)
TYVM - Thank You Very Much
VBG - Very Big Grin
WEG - Wicked Evil Grin
WTF - What The F*** (ok, you probably guessed that one!)
WTG- Way To Go
WYWH - Wish You Were Here
XOXO - it means Hugs and Kisses (something else that stayed the same)
YW- You're Welcome
MHOTY
Only the beginning
Of course, these are just a few of the online terms you may run across. However, it will give you a good start on holding a conversation online and also help you develope an "eye" for the shorthand used so that you are more able to figure things out as you encounter new terms. I am sure that many of you will have many more that you have seen and I welcome you to post them here to help others who are new to the internet lingo. Hopefully, this will get you off to a good start!