From: Karen <karen@lspace.org>
Subject: [FAQ] Acronyms - including Pratchett newsgroup specific usage
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett.announce,alt.fan.pratchett,alt.books.pratchett
Summary: This FAQ contains a dictionary of acronyms and abbreviations often
used on the Pratchett newsgroups.
Followup-To: poster
Reply-To: faqs@goodgulf.demon.co.uk
Organization: I live in hope
Keywords: Pratchett Discworld FAQ netiquette acronym abbreviation
Approved: afpa-mod@lspace.org
X-Autoposter: This FAQ was autoposted by <leo@lspace.org>
X-Archive-name: pratchett/acronyms-faq
X-Posting-Frequency: weekly (on Wednesday)
X-Last-modified: 27 May 2006
X-URL: <http://www.lspace.org/faqs/>
Archive-name: pratchett/acronyms-faq
Posting-Frequency: weekly (on Wednesday)
Last-modified: 27 May 2006
URL: <http://www.lspace.org/faqs/>
"Followup-To" set to: poster
This and all the other FAQs for Pratchett newsgroups and things
Pratchett related may be found at:
<http://www.lspace.org/faqs/>
Additionally, if you are unable to find the answer to your query in the
relevant FAQ, or have a more general query or request, there is a Help
Facility to be reached by mailing:
<afp-help@lspace.org>
-----!------!------!------!------!------!------!------!------!-----!-----
* ACRONYMPHOMANIA ! *
AfpGuide to Acronyms and other Abbreviations in Common Use upon AFP
NB
*** in the l.h. margin indicates next to, an entry indicates an
addition or a revision. Suggestions, additions, etc. (q.v.)
are always welcome.
You may also care to read the afp article,
"[FAQ] [M] [I] [G] [R] [A] [F] - Tagging and how it works"
Many additional acronyms, other than those which are afp-specific or simply
in common use by afpers, may be found in specialist web sites such
as the following:
The Acronym Finder <http://www.AcronymFinder.com/>
The Acronym Lookup <http://www.ucc.ie:80/cgi-bin/acronym>
Additionally the lspace FAQs page contains a link to the "Jargon File" where
you will find many more of the terms and abbreviations in common use on
Usenet in general.
Finally you will also often find additional info to the 'content' entries by
looking at the free, on line and user-updated encyclopedia, Wikipedia at:
<http://www.wikipedia.org>
Italicised entries (e.g. _Eric_) indicate that the abbreviation is of
one of Pterry(Terry Pratchett)'s titles, or one commonly referred to
by the abbreviation.
Books and publications are now listed separately before the main section.
Books and Publications:
----------------------
AD2000 The Assassin's Diary published in UK in September '99, but
not reaching Merkian shores until 2001. Not to be
confused with 2000AD, British graphic art comic
which gave birth to Halo Jones (thank you Andrew Breen
and Ally)
AHFoS _A Hat Full of Sky_ - A children's novel, the second to
feature Tiffany Aching.
AMCWD Ankh-Morpork City Watch Diary [for the year 1999 A.D. (q.v.)]
DD _Death's Domain_ - the fourth discworld map, by paul kidby.
also Double Diamond, Duplex Drive & Donald Duck.
E _Eric_ [see also F^HE];
ER _Equal Rites_; elizabeth regina (EIIR, elizabeth secunda
regina);
F^HE _Faust^H^H^H^H^H_Eric_ [see also E]
FoC _Feet of Clay_; also free of charge.
G!G! _Guards! Guards!_ [though it parses to "Guards Not-Guards Not"
for the shell bound, or "Guards-store Guards-store" for those who go
Forth [thank you Norman!]]
GG _Guards! Guards!_ [see G!G!]; also girl guides
GO _Good Omens_
GP Going Postal_, Discworld novel involving Golem Culture, published
November 2004
IT _Interesting Times_; Information technology; International
Times (forced closure)
J _Jingo_ [- is an abbreviation for this title *truly* needed ?];
joules
J&tB, JatB _Johnny and the Bomb_
J&tD, JatD _Johnny and the Dead_
L&L, LAL _Lords and Ladies_
M _Mort_; also "mega-" in abbreviations of compound SI (q.v.) unit
names, indicating one million times the basic unit.
MAA _Men at Arms_ [also "M@A"]
MR _Monstrous Regiment_; Discworld novel published November 2003
M!M _Maskerade_ [from "Maskerade, not Mort"]
MP _Moving Pictures_; Military Police; member of parliament.
NOC _Nanny Ogg's Cookbook_ published November 1999
NW _Night Watch_ published November 2002
OYCSM _Only You Can Save Mankind_
P _Pyramids_; also the musical direction, or indication, "piano".
RM _Reaper Man_; also Routemaster, the last bus designed for
london and londoners
S _Sourcery_ [n.b. not Strata, which is not commonly
afpbreviated];
Sulphur ["Sulfur" for merkins] (chemical symbol for).
SG _Small Gods_; standard gauge
SM _Soul Music_; more generally irl (o.k: & "fantasy")
SoAM _The Streets of Ankh-Morpork_[".._Being a concise and
possibly even accurate Mapp of the Great City of
Discworld]
TAMAHER _The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents_ Discworld
novel published November 2001. The first Discworld
Novel written (primarily) for children (not to mention
with chapters...).
TCoM _The Colour of Magic_
TCP _The Carpet People_; trichlorophenylmethyliodasalicyl [acid/salts]
TDSotS _The Dark Side of the Sun_
TFE, T5E _The Fifth Elephant_, 24th DW novel, published Nov '99. T5E is the
preferred acronym on the newsgroups - TFE is here for information.
Thud _Thud!_ to be published Oct '05, I challenge afp to supply an
acronym for this one! A watch novel featuring Vimes and family.
TLC _The Last Continent_ also Thin Layer Chromatography (Chromatogram);
Tender Loving Care.
TLF _The Light Fantastic_; three-line followup
TLH _The Last Hero_ large format book illustrated by Paul Kidby,
published November 2001
TSoD _The Science of Discworld_, published June 1999. Written with
Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen TSoD uses the magic of
Discworld to discuss the science of Roundworld.
TSoDII The Science of Discworld II: The Globe. Published May 2002.
Again written with Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen and discussing
evolution, intelligence and other roundworld topics.
TSoDIII The Science of Discworld III: Darwin's Watch. Published May
2005. Again written with Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen.
TOC,ToC "Theatre of Cruelty" dw short story, originally published
in Bookcase 45, W.H.Smith's promotional magazine
"Bookcase, 45, July/August '93; now expanded, it has
very kindly been made available by pterry for our
private reading pleasure [on www.lspace.org]. Revised
and reprinted in the program book of OryCon 15
Convention, it has been further revised and reprinted
in "The Wizards of Odd" edited by Peter Haining, 1996,
Souvenir Press. Also "Table of Contents"...
TT _The Truth_ Novel published Nov 2000, also TT Motorcycle races held
annually on the Isle of Man
ToT _The Thief of Time_ Novel published May 2001
TUC The Unadulterated Cat_<fx: bright pink ppint.> (thanks,
michael); Trades Union Congress; a brand of light,
salty biscuit. Republished October 2002. To the joy of
hapless hunters of of second hand shops.
T5E, TFE _The Fifth Elephant_, 24th DW novel, published Nov '99.
T5E is the preferred acronym on the newsgroups - TFE
is here for information.
W _Wintersmith_ Discworld children's novel, the third to feature
Tiffany Aching. Due to be published September 2006
WA _Witches Abroad_; wallace arnold; western australia
WFM _The Wee Free Men_; Discworld Novel published May 2003,
written with junior readers in mind.
WMC _Where's My Cow_; Children's Discworld Novel published Oct '05
featuring Vimes and his son.
WS _Wyrd Sisters_; william shakespeare
==============================================================================
Main Section
------------
ABEND Absent By Enforced Net Deprivation (see AFK); also abnormal end
ABP alt.books.pratchett - a strictly serious newsgroup devoted to
the rigorous analysis of the works of a lesser-known humourist.
A.D. anno domini; a dating system based on a mistaken interpretation of
the information given in the new testament of the bible regarding
the date of birth of one particular palestinian. best estimate of
the numerical error in assigning the "nazarene"'s date of birth
would put it in 6 B.C.(q.v.), sfaiaa (q.v.), and in approximately
march of that year, too...
AD2000 The Assassin's Diary published in UK in September '99, but
not reaching Merkian shores until 2001. Not to be
confused with 2000AD, British graphic art comic which
gave birth to Halo Jones (thank you Andrew Breen and
Ally)
A-Files Ever growing gallery of afpers, displaying mug^Wportrait
picture and/or a soundbyte of the afper's greeting,
and additional information such as their afpcode,
nickname etc. No entry qualifications beyond wishing
to participate as an afper. In fact distant afpers or
those who are otherwise deprived of RL [tm] contact
with their nosey fellow afpers are particularly
welcomed :) It is to be found at:
<http://www.lspace.org/fandom/afp/a-files/>
AFAIK as far as i know [cf. SFAIK (q.v.) & SFAIAA (q.v.)]."..WK" we know
AFK absent from keyboard.
AFParty A gathering of Afpers anywhere, anytime in 2002 with the
object of enjoying themselves evem more than at a
regular Afpmeet since its also celebrating 10 years of
Afpdom. Get in on the act by checking out the copious
free details at:
<http://www.lspace.org/fandom/afp/afparty/>
AFP, afp alt.fan.pratchett - a generally harmonious anarchy [once
more :-)]
AFPA, afpa alt.fan.pratchett.announce - a rigidly controlled
dictatorship for articles of an announcementish sort
of afpishness [which, it is promised, is fairly
loosely defined][though this could change]
AFPBOFH alt.fan.pratchett.bofh (see BOFH) technical discussions but
mostly only frequented by afpers. For a wider audience on a
technical issue your best prospect is more likely to be the
appropriate comp., alt. or other group or maillist.
AFPC alt.fan.pratchett.classic - old articles recycled:)
AFPCode AFP's own 'geekcode'. A way of describing your 'afpness'
in a sig. sized chunk which can also be neatly added
to your A-Files entry should you wish to make one. To
formulate your own AFPCode take a look at:
<http://cus.org.uk/~ccooke/afpcode/>
AHFoS _A Hat Full of Sky_ - A children's novel, the second to
feature Tiffany Aching.
AIUI, aiui as i understand it
aka also known as - indicating alternate title(s), especially of a
(orig'lly. book or story. nothing whatsoever to do with the monk^H^H^H^H^H
"a.k.a.") *any* recently reformed sixties pop-group created by don kirshner.
A-M Ankh-Morpork
AMCWD Ankh-Morpork City Watch Diary [for the year 1999 A.D. (q.v.)]
AOL ! "me too !" (from the alleged [commonly accepted as true] newbie-
("aol !") ish 'net behaviour of users posting via a certain ISP (q.v.), but
neither restricted to their users, nor universal to them [it just
*seems* like it, sometimes...])(is losing capitalisation as it be-
comes generic through common usage - frequently in triplicate...)
APF the Annotated Pratchett File - please consult this, before posting
aught you suspect may be a new gem, for herein is contained the
distilled wisdom (or something that passes for the same) of AFP
(q.v.)'s elucidation, elaboration and upon occasion even explan-
ation of the arcane or other obscure significance or references
employed by Pterry, as compiled by AFP (q.v.)'s indefatigable leo
the beauteous; the current version is apf 9.0 and is to be found
at www.lspace.org
ASL, asl American Sign Language (see also BSL)
ASR, asr alt.sex.reptiles (see LART); anti-submarine reconaissance [radar]
ATB all the best
ATM, atm at the moment; automatic teller machine (bank "hole in the wall");
asynchronous transfer mode. see also next item:
ATM-D, alt.talk.mended-drum - a newsgroup set up by afpers and
atm-d ex-afpers to recapture and enforce what they believe
to be the now-dead true spirit of afp. bot-moderated,
bouncing articles which are not to the librarian's
liking: ask of an active atm-d-er for advice as to the
manner of mollification necessary to avoid such a fate
This group died through lack of content.
B5 Babylon 5: merkin tv sf series, developed very well indeed
after something of an ordinary start, producing some
of the most intriguing, retrospective intensive
recomplications of plot and interpretations of both
images and events seen in dramatic sfnal performance
since The Rocky Horror (Picture) Show (with which it
bears little, if any, other similarity); this
especially true of the third series (year's)
programmes. was, sadly, showing signs that the
creative fires were dimming, during its fourth year,
but afpreport suggests this may have righted itself.
also a spun-off series of novels, and _The Babylon
Project_ role-playing game.
ba*d bastard (coined: colm@lspace.org - not a member of the CABAL (q.v.))
BBC, bbc British Broadcasting Corporation, The; aka "The Beeb". publicly-
owned, but not directly government-controlled uk tv + radio net-
work, and publisher. commercial tv in the uk is provided by the
ITV (q.v.) network, and C4 & S4C (q.v.); latterly, the overtly
populist C5 has started transmission, to almost universal apathy.
BBC1, BBC2 = two national t.v. channels (BBC1 with regional varia-
tions); R(adio) 1, R2, R3, R4, R5 (q.v.) = national radio channels.
the beeb has broadcast radio dramatisations of a number of Disc-
world books, t.v. dramatisations of two of the "Johnny Maxwell"
books (but not, i think, of OYCSM (q.v.)).
the service is funded by the t.v. licence fee payable by all uk
households using a television, which is set by the government, who
also appoint the governors of the public corporation, who appoint
its director-general and "deputy dg", as vacancies arise - where-
after little or no day-to-day control *need* exist. but n.b. the
international services, as the World Service of the BBC, are run
by the bbc for, and are directly funded by, the u.k. government
Foreign Office, which *does* exercise its control, and on a daily
basis from time to time (not least, the reconquest of the falkland
isles (las malvinas) + during the u.n. war against iraq), e.g. -
this was not previously done with so heavy a hand (leastways, not
in the sixties), but now bids fair to undermine respect for the
world service's hitherto widely-admired reporting objectivity.
aka (q.v.) "Auntie", prior to the coining of "The Beeb" by the
late, greatly lamented kenny everett
However BBC Transmission (which distributes the radio and tv
programs) now privatised and known as CTI (Castle Transmissions
International), owned primarily by Crown Castle International
(formerly Castle Tower) and also by T'l'diffusion de France.
BBFN, bbfn 'bye-'bye for now [cf. BFN, GBFN, TTFN (q.v.)]
B.C. "before christ" [cf. B.C.E., A.D., C.E. (q.v.)]; also a cartoon
cave-man character in eponymous strip set in stone age times
B.C.E. a system for dating years prior to the first year C.E./A.D.
counting is retrograde, by the number of years by which a given
year preceded the start of the C.E.(q.v.)/A.D.(q.v.) calendar.
see also, entry immediately above this.
b.e.m. bug-eyed monster
BFN 'bye for now [cf. BBFN, GBFN, TTFN (q.v. omnia)]
BICBW but i could be wrong (also ICBW, ICWBW, BICVWBW ..very well be...)
BITCH Being In Total Control of Herself [<g>: thanks, glindearestone];
BOFH, bofh bastard operator from hell: maybe sys(tem)admin(istrator) - or,
"the tech who knows how these ******* things work" (see LART).
Or occasionally the "boring old fart from hell" (dunno what
that makes me 'though <wg>)
BSE, bse bovine spongiform encephalopathy - "mad cow disease" - which is
more widespread than most governments are prepared to admit, in
the eu (q.v.) or in merkia. caused by the feeding of the infected
parts of diseased cows back to cows without complete pyrolysis of
the prions, which practice became widespread in the uk once the
tory government made it legal, & made it legal to not declare the
presence of such ingredients in processed feedstuffs; but which
has also taken place in most, if not all, other countries using
processed feedstuffs for cattle. _may_ have originated from the
inclusion in cattlefeed of "byproducts" of sheep infected with
scrapie (but this is not *known*, sfaiaa); causes "new form CJD"
(q.v.) in human beans. - n.b. "encephalitis" is _inflammation_
of the organ, and may well prove to be treatable. (thank-you for
pointing out my error, iain.)
BskyB British Sky Broadcasting, the UK's main satellite network; part of
that truly fine merkin (q.v.) citizen, rupert "the dirty digger"
murdoch,'s trans- and extra-planetary empire. Divested himself of Oz
citizenship in order gain US media ownership^W^Wcitizenship. (US
law frowns on too much foreign media ownership, unlike the UK's;)
BSL big scary looming (BSL Simes, originally) (coined by domini joann);
also British Sign Language (see also ASL)
BTDT Been There, Done That
BTDTGTTS Been There, Done That, Got The T-Shirt
BTSOOM beats the shit out of me [also ..F.. - fuck*; ..H.. - hell; etc.]
BTW, btw by the way
c/s cycles per second (see Hz)
C3Bs see CCCBs
C4 Channel Four; the commercial fourth uk national tv channel (save
for the welsh, who have S4C (q.v.)). have run the Cosgrove Hall
animations of _Truckers_, and _Wyrd Sisters_, and _Soul Music_
in autumn 1997 [see also BBC, ITV, S4C and C5]
C5 Channel Five; the commercial fifth uk national tv channel (save
for most of the uk, which cannot yet receive it, except by cable
[or, possibly, satellite]). specialises in total rubbish; but
also runs some good films - some recent - in amongst the dross.
CABAL a covert association of conspirators, frequently one attempting to
wrest control of an organisation; or, actually having succeeded in
taking control, that chooses to keep its existence - and the extent
of its powers - hidden from all but its own members. originally, a
group of advisors to the ruler whose existence, and power, was sim-
ilarly kept covert, after the name by which the group of (uk) king
Charles II's advisors was called, once their privileged positions
and cohesion started to become apparent; Clifford, Arlington, Buck-
ingham, Ashley and Lauderdale; the acronym being coined from the
initial letters of their names, and is therefore in this sense an
acroeponym. (it is probable that the coiner was aware of the exist-
ence of the french "cabale", derived through medieval latin from
the hebrew Qaballah (Kaballah, etc.), of arcane jewish religious
teachings and interpretations, if not in fact a student thereof).
* n.b. there is *_no_* CABAL controlling AFP (q.v.) *
otoh(q.v.) there *is* a cabal controlling lspace; the lspace cabal.
cc. courtesy copy; originally carbon copy, from the mechanical means
orig. c.c. of its production [unless its use can be shown to antedate this];
cubic centimetre (nowadays = millilitre) in volume measurements.
CC Clarecraft
CCCBs chocolate-coated coffee beans. there is occasionally some afdoubt
C3Bs expressed, as to whether C3Bs are a food item. (- or ambrosia.)
CCDE Clarecraft Discworld Event - sixth (most recent) held August '05
ccde at Wetherden Farm, nr. Bury St. Edmunds, and generally agreed to
have been a successful afpmeet, despite its proximity to Europe, or
Yeurp (& hence, the large number of European afpers in attendance).
("By the time we got to Flitworth's, we were half a hundred
strong..."
C.E. common era: indicates dating system used. numerically identical to
the A.D. system, this makes no presumption about the faith(s) of the
readers, or the historical accuracy (or otherwise) of such faiths.
regarded by some as more polite, derided by others as PC (q.v.).
cf. confer
CJ _Carpe Jugulum_; also Carolyn Janice
CJD, cjd creuzfeldt-jakobs disease; closely related to BSE (q.v.) destroy-
ing the brains of those afflicted. occurs very sporadically for
no known reason; "new form" cjd is caused by the consumption of
BSE-infected beef and beef byproducts, and has recently been shown
to be the same disease. there remains an unknown probability that
non-new form cjd cases amongst farm-workers may have been caused
by exposure to organo-phosphates.
C|N>K coffee (through the) nose (onto the) keyboard; extended to "..>M"
ditto, but all over the monitor; and "..>S", over the screen, etc.
hence also T|N>K (q.v.); and, potentially, other "substances"|N>K.
CORFLU, correcting fluid (cf. "snopake" - "idiot ink" - "whiteout" - but):
corflu royal blue, inflammable and "sniffable", way back in the dim and
distant age of _The Enchanted Duplicator_); now used both in the
original sense (mostly by wrinklies and crumblies - hi, dave ! -)
and as a generic magical lotion of great strength and most
efficacious, as in "pass the corflu", but strictly NBM (q.v.)
(from fandom).
Daftpabank Not exactly an acronym but the birthdays list of afpers past
and present. There are no entry requirements or other
qualification needed being your wishing to join and be a part.
It is one of the original places used by afpers to share
information about themselves with each other irrespective of
location and RL activity or frequency of posting and it is
still going strong with new bugs regularly added. The A-Files
and the afpcode now exist in the same open spirit.
DD _Death's Domain_ - the fourth discworld map, by paul kidby.
also Double Diamond, Duplex Drive & Donald Duck.
DMWC (the) dear madwoman carol (_the_) [& various extemporisations therefrom],
the most recent uncracked being "the uatsspdrfodmwc" <g>.
DYOH Do your own homework - since afp/abp whilst being generally
helpful and accommodating are not there to do it for you.
DW, dw the discworld - but 'ware pitfall: also Dr. Who (a classic bbc tv,
radio & novel SF (q.v.) series, sometimes even good - or better).
DWC _The Discworld Companion_ (please specify the edition on afp/abp,
as the pagination differs from the h/cvr & yp/b to the updated &
re-set (and with at least 14% greater text content) p/b edition).
[*not* in afpuse, but a suggestion: because of the confusion with
DWC #1, #2 (q.v.), for _The Discworld Companion_, use DWComp1 for
the hardcover & y/pb first edition, and DWComp2 for the revised &
expanded (ordinary format) p/b edition...]
DWC #1 discworld convention #1; this was held in june 1996
DWC #2 discworld convention #2; this was held in september 1998
DWC #3 discworld convention #3: this was held in August 2002
DWC #4 discworld convention #4: this was held in August 2004
DWC #5 discworld convention #5: this will be held in August 2006, see:
<http://www.dwcon.org>
See also the Events section of the lspace web for further info
about fandom events.
<http://www.lspace.org/fandom/index.html>
E _Eric_ [see also F^HE]; Espana (international vehicle identifier).
E.C., e.c. European Community; formerly European Economic Community (i am
EC, ec uncertain as to precisely when the latter ceased to be correct;
possibly, when it was discovered to not be so very economical ?);
also Entertainment Comics, which company was the major focus of
the censorship campaign uniting the extreme and religious right-
wing fundamentalists with the communist party [!!] against the so-
called "horror comics"; eventually all of EC's were closed down,
as Mad magazine was uncontroversial, untargetted and so well dis-
tributed - and *far* more profitable...
e.g. exempli gratia
ER _Equal Rites_; elizabeth regina (EIIR, elizabeth secunda regina);
"Emergency Room" (more-or-less dire hospital-set t.v. soap).
et seq. et sequentia
etc. &c. et cetera
ETLA extended three-letter acronym [because FLA isn't] [DETLA = doubly]
EU, eu europe; also eutectic (and eutectic solution, or point)
F^HE _Faust^H^H^H^H^H_Eric_ [see also E]
FAQ, faq frequently asked questions; and files listing same, with answers.
periodically posted to AFP (q.v.); available via www.lspace.org
[see also RTFFAQ]. sometimes parsed "frequently answered questions".
FETLA further-extended three-letter acronym. after ETLA (q.v.). [etc....]
FLA four-letter acronym; but it isn't one [see ETLA, & FETLA, above];
also Alabama Liberation Front (liberation from whom, being unclear)
FoC _Feet of Clay_; also free of charge.
FRPG, frpg see RPG
FTP, ftp file transfer protocol: getting files from a distant online compu-
ter; if you do not yet know how to achieve this, RTFM (q.v.) <g>;
if you have none, ask your ISP (q.v.) or the nearest friendly BOFH
(q.v.); if they cannot, or will not help, ask one who has the same
ISP as you. if you still have no joy, ask on AFP (q.v.) - but be
prepared to be a) swamped with offers of instruction - and helpful
advice - or b) totally ignored (at random). (- n.b. i said "at";
not "by"...<g>) (- if b), ask on the relevant demon.ip.support.
group [.newuser, .pc (for dos), .turnpike, .unix, .win95, .winsock,
.nt, .os2, and .other (for aught else] but do read the group also;
fuck the pope (combative, aggressive and derogatory wall slogan in
use in some parts of northern ireland - and other parts of the uk)
FUBAR fucked up beyond all recognition*
FUD fear, uncertainty, and doubt [or, dismay, or disinformation]
FWIW, fwiw for what it's worth ("stop, hey, what's that sound...") (sorry pp.)
FX, fx. effects - originally a stage direction indicating sound effects -
now frequently given as <fx: (description or definition of effect
desired)>, or <fx>: (name of sound or other effect to be imagined)
- n.b. no longer restricted to _sound_ effects in 'net usage.
G!G! _Guards! Guards!_ [though it parses to "Guards Not-Guards Not"
for the shell bound, or "Guards-store Guards-store" for those who go
Forth [thank you Norman!]]
GBFN good-bye for now [cf. BBFN, BFN, TTFN (q.v.)]
g,d&r(lb) Grins, Ducks & Runs; ("...& runs like buggery");
(...vf)(vvf) ("...& Runs Very (Very) Fast)" (and so on...)
GG _Guards! Guards!_ [see G!G!]; also girl guides
GCSE, General Certificate of Secondary Education - english, welsh & north-
gcse ern irish [variable] standard of education to c.sixteen years old,
and examinations and syllabus relating thereunto.
GO _Good Omens_
GP _Going Postal_, Discworld novel involving Golem Culture, published
November 2004
GST goods & services tax: xxxxian & kiwiiiian; a regressive tax on ex-
penditure comparable somewhat with the uk's old purchase tax, which
had a degree of progression provided for, and somewhat with v.a.t.
(VAT q.v.), though this latter is far more inefficiently organdised.
GURPS Generic Universal Role-Playing System, a cut-down version of which,
known as "GURPS Lite", is included in the GURPS Discworld rpg book,
which is therefore a stand-alone RPG (q.v.) as well as a beautifully-
paul kidby-illustrated and suitably atmospheric discworld sourcebook.
H _Hogfather_ (but "Hf" is the more common afpbreviation); heroin;
hydrogen (chemical symbol for)
HAND "have a nice day" - meaningless phrase parrotted incessantly and
completely insincerely by many, esp. (by no means only) merkins;
the sentiments of the phrase may be truly and honestly meant (by a
few) who would not so abbrev. it. (cf. WYMM (q.v.)) (see also HTH)
HANN "have a nice newsfeed" - of course [thank-you, mchl grnt <g>]
h/cvr hardcover
HF, Hf _Hogfather_ (more common than "H", which is also afpused)
HIBT Have I been trolled?
HM(M)HYG - see "SHM(M)HYG"
HS Hebrew Scriptures - non-loaded term for those biblical writings
christians generally refer to as OT (q.v.) preferred by academe
as non-judgemental as to the validity of religious viewpoint -
and as non-insulting (- and therefore pc (q.v.))
HTH hope this [/that] helps - _not_ to be confused with WTH (q.v.);
also Honour to Hastur; HTH; HAND "...; His Arrival Nears Daily")
HTML - "HyperText Mark-up Language is a simple markup language
used to create hypertext documents that are portable from one
platform to another"
<http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/>
HTML should *not* be used to post to newsgroups which require
plain text. HTML versions of documents are substantially larger
than their plain counterparts and filtered out entirely by some
newsfeeds.
Hz herz: SI (q.v.) unit of frequency; equivalent to "c/s" (q.v.)
IANA[X] I Am Not A...[e.g. IANAL ...Lawyer; IANAN ...Number; etc.]
ibid. ibidem
ICBW i could be wrong (also BICBW (q.v.), etc.)
ICM5UKP I Claim My 5ukp - as in " You are 'x' and ICM5UKP", a form of
'spot the celebrity' developed by newspapers to boost sales [you
had to be carrying the paper at the time to claim your money]
Thanks Melody!
ICURYY4ME see YYUR, YYUB
ICQ I seek you (onomat.): a free online pager service similar in some
ways to IRC (q.v.)
i.e. id est
IFU Instant Family Unit - the extra bonus of added children, with
your chosen partner, without all the tiresome waiting...
IGMC I'll get my coat; IJGMC: i'll just get...(most recently from the
Fast Show, BBC TV)
IIRC,iirc if i recall [remember] correctly
IIUC, iiuc if i understand [understood] correctly
IMAO in my arrogant opinion
IMHO, imho in my humble opinion
IMNSHO,
imnsho in my not so humble opinion
IME, ime in my experience
IMO, imo in my opinion
IOW in other words [or, in other worlds]; also Isle of Wight (uk).
IRC,irc internet relay chat - online, realtime, conversational newsgroup
equivalent; unless you have free phonecalls, *very* dangerous...
IRL, irl in real life [see RL]
ISIHAC I'm Sorry, I Haven't A Clue (a semi-legendary bbc radio show)
ISIRTA I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (a legendarily anarchic, long-
running, humorous bbc radio show)
ISP, isp internet service provider - the company, institution, group, or
individual that is responsible for letting you loose on AFP (q.v.).
ISTM, istm It seems to me
ISTR, istr i seem to recall [remember]
IT _Interesting Times_; Information technology; International
Times (forced closure)
ITV, itv Independent Television; the commercial third uk tv channel, comp-
osed of a rapidly decreasing number of increasingly large media
companies, or megacorp-owned tv companies, who bid for the area
franchises auctioned by the government. [see also BBC, C4, S4C]
IYKWIM/IYSWIM - If you know/see what I mean.
IYWBSG(AT) if you would be so good (as to...) [similarly IYWBSK ....kind]
J _Jingo_ [- is an abbreviation for this title *truly* needed ?];
joules
JRRT - see LOTR
J&tB, JatB _Johnny and the Bomb_
J&tD, JatD _Johnny and the Dead_
k kilo- prefix indicating thousands; used in metric system (SI q.v.)
K kalium [potassium] (chemical symbol for); also a measure of comput-
er memory or file magnitude somewhat variable in size.
KISS Keep it simple stupid! - widely used in the old IT world as the
equivalent of "less is more". If you are really old you may even
have come across KISS COBOL...
l. line [followed by ordinal number of the line referred to from the
top of the page: quote after giving page number (see "p.")]; also
litre(s).
ll. lines [followed by ordinal numbers of the lines referred to from
the top of the page: quote after giving page number (see "p.")].
the abbreviation is also used for giving the total (cardinal) num-
ber of lines in a piece of text to which reference is being made]
L&L, LAL _Lords and Ladies_
LART, lart this information is classified: see your nearest BOFH (q.v.) for
further instruction, or demonstration. (n.b. no responsibility is,
nor can be accepted by yr hmbl spnt, the compiler, for aught that
may subsequently transpire - cf. etiam ASR (q.v.))
LJ LiveJournal - popular resource for online journals, some use their
LJ as a weblog/blog or combine the two functions in one.
LOL, lol laugh(ing) out loud
LotR _The Lord of the Rings_ by j(ohn).r(onald).r(euel).tolkien
M _Mort_; also "mega-" in abbreviations of compound SI (q.v.) unit
names, indicating one million times the basic unit.
MAA _Men at Arms_ [also "M@A"]
MAC Multiplexed Analogue Components. A mostly-extinct TV/colour system in
which video, colour, sound and sync were sent one after another
instead of simultaneously. This was to get the most usable power out
of the 70s' low-power (ten? watts at 11GHz) satellite transponders.
How many of you remember B-MAC and B2-MAC? The difference between the
two was that B-MAC could handle four stereo channels, B2-MAC 'only'
two. Or possibly eight and four? Whatever. (Thanks Reynir)
MAFPIA Not an acronym but a commonly used term on afp - I quote
Andy Fawcett (Tap)'s explanation of the term:
"The term 'MAFPIA' was coined by my lovely wife a couple of
years ago on lspace IRC. At that time the 'afpfamily' thing
was flourishing, and it was likened to 'Sicilian families'.
IIRC it all went on from there..."
Just a play on words - intended to be inclusive not exclusive.
Mary Sue Not an acronym but a common term in SF&F, also used less frequently
in other genres. Mary Sue is mainly to be found in fanfiction
where she is the archetype of the beautiful, successful, infallible
being with a dozen PhDs who generally also catches the love interest.
All too good to be true? Detailed description can be found here:
<http://www.merrycoz.org/papers/MARYSUE.HTM>
I shorter description can be found here on the pages of her own
fansite:
<http://www.subreality.com/marysue.htm>
MR _Monstrous Regiment_; Discworld novel published November 2003
M!M _Maskerade_ [from "Maskerade, not Mort"]
merkin *not* an abbreviation: a word in the english language: a natal
(though not necessarily native) or adoptive inhabitant, or ex-in-
habitant, of the USA (q.v.); n.b. also the afprecognised existence
of an indeterminate number of "clueful merkins".
MKS, mks metre, kilogramme, second: one of the two basic sets of units that
define the metric system, lacking only a basic electrical unit, to
give full newtonian (? and einsteinian ?) universal descriptions.
a delight to work with mathmatically, as opposed to the imperial
system, which is generally possessed of units of more everyday
usefulness or s.i. (q.v.). alternative is cgs: centimetre,
gramme, and second; i do not know why there is no "mgs" system
standard. not to be confused with mpk.
mmf Make Money Fast: pyramid scheme uce(q.v) & spam; illegal, im-
practical and logically demonstrably intellectually indefensible.
mmp/b mass market paperback: "strippable" merkin paperback [cf. tp/b]
MOR middle of (the) road - boring and undiscriminating selection of
music playlisted on the basis of causing least offence to, and
requiring least effort upon the part of, the perceived audience -
not necessarily to the exclusion of all good music; but the sel-
ection criteria tend to make for bland beige musical wallpaper,
being essentially tasteless.
MP _Moving Pictures_; Military Police; member of parliament.
mpk initials (and sometimes sign off) of one Mr Knell of the lspace
Cabal (TINC)
MUD Multi user dungeon as used in RPGs (see below)
n.b. nota bene
NBM nil by mouth (in origin, a medical abjuration)
NMF Nac Mac Feegle, little wild blue creatures speaking in
incomprehensible (for some) dialect. And similarity between the
NMF and afp is entirely in your imagination...; also 'Not My
Footnote' when quoting text including a footnote number without
the footnote itself being needed.
NTSC Never Twice the Same Color - National Television Standard
Committee - merkin t.v. format, not compatible with any european
(var-iously PAL (q.v.), PAL/Secam) (and probably others), nor
xxxxian, kiwiiian, or anywhere else-ian, save canadadadian &
nipponononian.
this gives rise to problems with videocassettes from the different
areas not being compatible, though they all be VHS (q.v.). _some_
more expensive video players are dual standard. Additionally dual
standard players may not be able to play back the HiFi soundtrack of
an NTSC tape. So you still get sub standard sound - check, before
you buy.
With new fangled digital formats, for ever more graphic detail,
there is no longer a link between the standards and the colour
system. Primarily it distinguishes the American field rate of an
image (60 fields per second at 240 visible lines per field, referred
to as NTSC) from the European one (50 fields/s at 288 lines/field--
PAL). Thanks Ulrich!
NOC _Nanny Ogg's Cookbook_ published November 1999
NW _Night Watch_ published November 2002
nyk not yet known (orig. n.y.k.)
nyp not yet published
Ob Obligatory; Obligation; & "...Own Business" [The Great Explosion,
fix-up incorporating "...And then there were None." - efr]
OFiaH Old Fart in a Hat
OLF, olf one line follow-up [commonly considered a netcrime, but AFP (q.v.)
is significantly more tolerant of them, than are most newsgroups -
*if* the preceding text is trimmed to the minimum needed for the
olf's point to remain needle-sharp; *if* the effect is punctatory]
OBE Order of the British Empire - An award in the British Honours
System ranking above 'Member of the British Empire' and awarded to
Terry for services to literature. This ranks below a knighthood but
who knows, one day...perhaps the sword will dub the pen and Terry
will get promotion.
O/P, o/p out of print
OT Old Testament; implicitly judgemental name for those parts of the
bible held in common by both jews and (most) christians. (see HS)
OTOH, otoh on the other hand
OTT, ott over the top
OTTH, otth on the third hand [etc....]
OYCSM _Only You Can Save Mankind_
P _Pyramids_; also the musical direction, or indication, "piano".
p. page [followed by the ordinal number of the page referred to - use
the number printed on the page unless you explicitly state that an
alternative numbering system is in use, and state which edition of
which book is being used] [see also "pp.", "l." & "ll.")]
PAL Prolongs Active Life; also the basic european tv display standard,
though there are national variations (eek ! - it's those variable
standards again !); either Pray And Learn, or Phase Alternate (or
Alternation) Line [-rate no.]. the rate defines the frequency with
which each single point in the picture ("pixel") is updated. the
UK (q.v.) version is based on a 625 line standard with alternate
lines being displayed on each frame at 50 frames per second - so
the picture is fully refreshed 25 times per second ("you are feel-
ing fully refreshed"<g>); common in europe is PAL50 (...25 times
per second). PAL60 is the only format to which NTSC (q.v.) can
easily be translated, and in which it may easily be displayed.
the alternation of phase allows for the correction of errors in-
troduced by phase shift due to reflections from buildings & terrain,
and atmospheric conditions; if much error compensation is requir-
ed, pal tends to suffer from a "herringbone" moire pattern whose
strength corresponds to the degree of colour shift that under the
same conditions would be experienced with NTSC (q.v.).
n.b. do not confuse this moire pattern with that visable when some-
one on screen wears a striped suit: *that* is due not to bad recep-
tion, but to bad taste. PAL is downwards-compatible -- that is, any
PAL TV can show any PAL broadcast.
SECAM: SEquentielle Couleur Avec Memoire. Several variants exist of
uncertain compatibility they are with each other. The main
difference between PAL and SECAM is that PAL uses quadrature DSB
(Double SideBand) modulation to transmit both U (red difference) and
V (blue difference) at the same time. In SECAM, the colour carrier is
FM'd and U and V take turns on alternate lines. The 'Memoire' part is
the colour memory, as the TV must remember last line's colour signal
(in practice by using a delay line) to get the colour right. (thanks
Reynir)
Also sometimes expanded to Systeme European Contre les Americains.
But I couldn't possibly comment...
Confused? This site contains all you may wish to know:^):
Try <http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Contrib/WorldTV/index.html>
p/b paperback [see also h/cvr, mmp/b, tp/b, yp/b]
PC, pc personal computer; personal computer based on the standards used
by I.B.M. for their personal computer; also player character; in
fantasy role-playing gaming, a character in the game whose aims,
ambitions and (attempted) actions are determined by a player, as
opposed to being determined by the game master/mistress ("gm")
(or, in the games d&d and ad&d, "dm" for dungeonmaster/mistress)
as a foil for the players' characters (further see RPG); also
"politically correct" - i.e. following or applying a standard or
standards of moral behaviour to actions. in this latter sense,
also misused and derided by the unthinking brainwashed to both
the left and right of the political spectrum, and by senseless
idiots in general: where it is abused in this way, consider well
the actual proposals or arguments made; and also bear in mind the
source of the "abusage"...
PHB formerly Pointy-Headed Bastard; more recently, "sanitized" to
Pointy-Haired Boss, in Scott Adams' "Dilbert" cartoon strip. A vile
creature in most incarnations.
pov point of view
pp. pages [followed by ordinal numbers of the pages referred to - use
the numbers printed on the pages unless you explicitly state that
an alternative numbering system is in use, and state which edition
of which book is being used: follow giving page number (see "p.")]
[the abbreviation is also used for giving the total (cardinal) no.
(q.v.) of pages in a book (or other piece of text) to which refer-
ence is being made] [see also "l."]; also used as an abbreviation
of "per pro", itself derived by abbr. from "per procurationem".
[- "PP" (no period) indicates the musical dynamic "pianissimo".]
PSP Portable Scorpion Pit; a device introduced by the Sisters of
Vetinari. Two such artifacts exist, with one In the custody of
Alice Aforethought and the other held by Jan Mazurek of the
Fratelli di Vetinari, to whom application should be made on
behalf of suitably deserving cases. The criteria for prioritising
needy cases are yet to be clarified. Also Paint Shop Pro, graphics
package.
q.e.d. quod erat demonstrandum
q.v. quod videt
R1; BBC (q.v.) uk "national" radio network programmes; "Radio One" et
R2; seq.(q.v.). R1: current pop music; R2: (in transition from) light
R3; MOR (q.v.) music and entertainment to (?) general old pop music of
R4; any time; R3: pre-, post- and classical music, and also study of
R5 music; some drama; R4: (under reconstruction) news, analysis and
current affairs; drama; test match commentary on long wave, as is
appropriate; desert island discs; science (reportage and discuss-
ion); some classical music; inane chat shows and soaps [in other
words, a mess; and this is overtly the premier uk national public-
ly-owned radio programme]; R5 [allegedly "live"]: sport; R4 also
exhibits some u.k. constituent national, and regional, variation.
there were formerly three uk-wide radio programmes (until 1967);
these were the Home Service (now R4), the Light Programme (renamed
R2); most "light" programming later transferred into R4, some to
R5), and the Third Programme (now R3). you may see some crumblier
and/or wrinklier uk afpers referring to these, or to the current
R2 - 4, by the names with which they are more familiar - still...
see "BBC" entry for explanation of the autonomy/vulnerability
to interfernce and control by the government of the uk, of this
public corporation; also for earlier structure of radio services.
rfc request for comment: variously, one of the technical specifications
defining the format of e- and 'net- communication (the rules of the
'net, in the sense that failure to conform to them will result in
no communication); strong recommendations for the written format of
e-communications (failure to conform to which is liable to result
in ex-communication), and recommended advice of "netiquette" - net
etiquette - what is considered acceptable in behaviour in e-mail
and upon newsnet (failure to conform generally to which is highly
likely to result in the receipt of more or less irritated, even
irate, e-communications; & persistent failure in ex-communication.)
RL, rl real life - a semi-mythical state of existence rumoured to exist
outside afp & afpmeets, CCDE, & dwc #1, 2 (q.v.). (also IRL, in..)
RM _Reaper Man_; also Routemaster, the last bus designed for london
and londoners, by a team from london county council, london tran-
sport and A.E.C, who built it. the best big city omnibus ever.
ROFL (etc.)see ROTFL
RO(T)FL rolling on (the) floor laughing [do not confuse with Rot13 (q.v.)]
RO(T)FLKAS rolling on (the) floor laughing, kicking and screaming
ROTFLMAO rolling on (the) floor laughing my ass off [etc.... that's the lot!]
Rot13, deliberately easily-breakable encryption in which every letter is
rot13 replaced with that thirteen letters on in the alphabet. used to
allow those afpers who would rather not read a potential spoiler
to avoids it. Rot13 is 'net standard and an option on many readers,
but is *not* in general an effective alternative to spoiler space.
n.b. that Rot13-ing plain text an even number of times decodes it.
RP, rp received pronunciation; formerly known as the queen (or the king)'s
english, or bbc english; formerly thought to be classless, correct
pronunciation (mostly by those of london & south eastern uk middle
classes upon whose pronunciation it was based); rocket projectile.
Also 'Role Play' - usually used to mean a chatroom/telnet-based
session of a RPG, or a log of such, or any Role-Playing session,
esp. when referred to on an OOC (out-of-character, opposite IC,
in-character) list. (Thanks Michelle)
RPG, rpg role-playing game (also "frpg" for fantasy rpg: but this is taken
as inclusive of sf, horror, cartoon and historical rpg; and "lrpg"
for live rpg, which is closer to co-operative amateur dramatics):
games derived from, or ultimately inspired by, gary gygax & dave
arneson's "Dungeons & Dragons" concept of players role-playing the
characters in a fantasy setting provided by a game master/mistress.
"D&D" itself, and games immediately derived from it (e.g."Tunnels
& Trolls"), provided relatively little inherent encouragement for
character role-play, being heavily biased towards looting, pillag-
ing and killing (it was in origin a development of personal combat
rules by the two teenage male wargamers), but the longterm rewards
of rpg come from the combination of social play with developing &
testing both the skills of fantasy role-playing and the created
characters and worlds. [and not, therefore, a spectacularly good
acronym to adopt for fantasy combat adventure computer games.]
also; rocket-propelled grenade [irl (q.v.), as well as in games;
thank-you, o dai wai (- really ! - duke nukem 3-d ! <<g>iggle>)].
r.r.p. recommended retail price
RSN, rsn real soon now (from fandom - means "sometime, honestly !")
RSS a group of XML based web-content distribution and republication
(syndication) formats used by news sites and weblogs (blogs).
RTFFAQ read the fucking FAQ (q.v.)*
RTFI read the fucking instructions*
RTFM read the fucking manual*
S _Sourcery_ [n.b. not Strata, which is not commonly afpbreviated];
Sulphur ["Sulfur" for merkins] (chemical symbol for).
S4C Sianel Pedwar Cymru - the welsh national commercial fourth tv
channel, broadcasting welsh language programmes plus a selection
drawn from C4 (q.v.) including the Cosgrove Hall animations of WS
and SM; but rarely, if ever, simultaneously with C4. correct pro-
nunciation of S4C is "es pedwar ec" [thanks, warren], and of the
full, "shannel pedwar kumree" ("come-ree"; or a short u, as in a
*very* brief "ook", "book" [non-tyke]). [see also BBC, C4+5 & ITV]
SCA Society for Creative Anachronism; merkin mock medievalists, in
practice inclusive of quite a wide range of interests, some more,
some less concerned with authenticity (cf. the Sealed Knot).
has manors or principalities or whatever outside merkia, including
in xxxxia, The SCA can be found at:
<http://www.sca.org/welcome-text.html>
SECAM See entry for PAL
<sef> As originated by one Jens Ayton who gives his own excu^Wexplanation
in article <3A3E6ED2.8B1CA8FA@nettaxi.com>. For the google
challenged this resulted from a typo but with a the encouragement
of others, notably Thom and Sockii, it grew and took on a life
form all its own to become 'the only emoticon you will ever need'.
The 'universal emoticon' sometimes equated with the ever popular
*shrug*, sometimes with an enigmatic smile, sometimes with those
'wavy hands' moments where you fell *something* - you just are
not quite sure what. Thus it has the capacity to convey a multitude
of meanings derived from the text, from the gaps between the text,
from knowledge or experience of the poster, or from nothing at all.
This leads some people to feel it is entirely useless, others that
it is a free spirit representative of the gestalt that is afp
(yes I'm aiming for Pseud's corner) whilst many others feel that it
sums up so many possibilities that it should be declared a Work of
Art.
If it causes people to pause and actually think about their posts
and those they read - well I think I'd elevate it from 'Work of Art'
to 'Outright Miracle'. <sef> <work it out> <sef>
Adrian starting an extensive discussion on this which can be found
by searching for message ID:
<732e2927.0112100338.5b7504@posting.google.com>
and reading the ensuing thread.
SF Science Fiction; Speculative Fiction - originally "Scientifiction"
both this and "Science Fiction" coined by hugo gernsback, who was
(in 1926) the publisher of the first english language SF magazine.
n.b. "SF" is primarily a publishing category, or is descriptive of
the author's mental approach to their chosen themes' impacts upon
people, individually and collectively; n.b. it is not a genre, as
there is nothing generic to it. (- common newsnet usage (e.g. on
rec.arts.sf.written, and .fandom) is to include fantasy, which may
be illogical, but seems to be practical <g>.) n.b. further *_not_*
"Sci-Fi", which monstrosity was formed by analogy with "Hi-Fi", by
sam moskowitz (iirc); and adopted by rip-off publishers in the
fifties, who neither knew nor cared aught for SF - and with whose
standard of "product" this neologism is now permanently associated
(and which is properly pronounced "skiffy", according to forrest
ackermann - and others). also, San Francisco. (ppint)
However an alternative 'iirc', from Andrew Foley suggests that the
monstrosity was 'originated by Forrest Ackerman. Moskowitz, for all
his faults, is not the guilty man here. The cover of abook edited
by Ackerman referred to its editor as "Mr S**-F*"' Andrew also
believes it was Frank Herbert, in the introduction to a volume of
_Nebula Award Stories 15_ who, quite po-faced, instructed the
world that it is pronounced "skiffy". This was clearly an attempt
at irony.
Definitive answer anyone as to who was first?
SFAIAA so far as i am aware [cf. AFAIK, SFAIK (q.v.)]
SFAICR so far as i can recall (remember)
SFAIK so far as i know [cf. AFAIK, SFAIK (q.v.)]
SFAIU so far as i understand
SFAR so far as regards
SG _Small Gods_; standard gauge
SHM(M)HYG so how much (money) have you got ? - an afpropriate response to
any so ill-advised as to lightly pop the question "WYMM (q.v.) ?"
S.I., s.i. systeme internationale: a confusion created by the addition of
millions of more or less famous scientists' names to the MKS (q.v.)
metric system's standard dimensionally-compounded units.
SIG, .SIG signature file: small (c. four lines of text is strongly advised)
sig, .sig file of information, or quotation (or a mix of these), appended to
e-mails and news articles sent by a user, and by 'netwide co-op-
erative convention, separated from each item's text by the .sig
separator, which is a line "-- <cr>" (hyphen hyphen space return).
programs exist to vary the .sig automat(/g)ically, and also rand-
omly, if desired. some (?many?) readers can be set to not display
the .sigs of articles and e-mails received: if using a spam (uce)
trap, *don't* depend on advice of this in your .sig being seen...
# in following-up to a newsgroup articles, previous contributors'
.sigs should normally be cut (unless relevant to your afposting) #
# n.b. - many newsgroups are intolerant of large or ugly .sigs #
SM _Soul Music_; more generally irl (o.k: & "fantasy") Sado-Masochism.
SNAFU situation normal; all fucked up* [also as a noun; a snag or error]
SO; so Significant Other - spouse, partner, etc. - non-prescriptive as to
sex, or legal status, and therefore PC (q.v.)
SoAM _The Streets of Ankh-Morpork_[".._Being a concise and possibly even
accurate Mapp of the Great City of the Discworld_.."]["..Including
Unseen University and environs!_"]["Also finest assortment of aven-
ues, lanes, squares and alleys for your walking pleasure_"] (map of
A-M (q.v.) & streetguide [and other details] booklet.) (see UUC for
more on the missing "T")
SoGP Spousling of Great Price - generally reckoned to be an appreciation
of the value of said spouse rather than second hand value ;} thank
you April :}
sub. sub (cf. sup.)
sup. superior (cf. sub.)
TAMAHER _The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents_ Discworld novel
published November 2001. The first Discworld Novel written (primarily)
for children (not to mention with chapters...).
TAP, tap Temporarily Absent Prodigal
t.b.a. to be announced
TCoM _The Colour of Magic_
TCP _The Carpet People_; trichlorophenylmethyliodasalicyl [acid/salts]
TDSotS _The Dark Side of the Sun_
TFE, T5E _The Fifth Elephant_, 24th DW novel, published Nov '99. T5E is the
preferred acronym on the newsgroups - TFE is here for information.
Thud _Thud!_ to be published Oct '05, I challenge afp to supply an acronym
for this one! A watch novel feature Vimes and family.
TIA,tia thanks (or thank-you) in advance
TINC, tinc There Is No CABAL (q.v.)
TLA, tla three-letter acronym or abbreviation [which it is] (see ETLA, &c.)
TLC _The Last Continent_ also Thin Layer Chromatography (Chromatogram);
Tender Loving Care.
TLF _The Light Fantastic_; three-line followup
TLH _The Last Hero_ large format book illustrated by Paul Kidby,
published November 2001
TMI Too Much Information (Thanks to Glinda, still at M$?;)
T|N>K Tea through Nose onto Keyboard (by analogy with C|N>K (q.v.)
(thanks, marina invent.[?] first noted 6/1/98 (1/6/98 merkin).
TOC,ToC "Theatre of Cruelty" dw short story, originally published in
Bookcase 45, W.H.Smith's promotional magazine "Bookcase, 45,
July/August '93; now expanded, it has very kindly been made
available by pterry for our *private* reading pleasure
[on www.lspace.org].
Revised and reprinted in the program book of OryCon 15 Convention,
it has been further revised and reprinted in "The Wizards of Odd"
edited by Peter Haining, 1996, Souvenire Press.
Also "Table of Contents"...
TOH the other half
TOT The One True (prefixing afper's name), coined by The
Gotdammerell for TOTKat, originally to distinguish herself
from Kat Knight (Kat@lspace.org).
ToT _The Thief of Time_ Novel published May 2001
tp/b non-strippable merkin paperback [cf. mmp/b; also h/cvr, p/b, yp/b]
TRDE The Real Dick Eney, by rights should now be TRRE. Without whom
we might well be shy one Tamar.
TRSZ,trsz the red salamander zaruga
TSoD _The Science of Discworld_, published June 1999. Written with
Ian
Stewart and Jack Cohen TSoD uses the magic of Discworld to
discuss the science of Roundworld.
TSoDII The Science of Discworld II: The Globe. Published May 2002.
Again written with Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen and discussing
evolution, intelligence and other roundworld topics.
TSoDIII The Science of Discworld III: Darwin's Watch. Published May
2005. Again written with Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen.
TSaLF _The Sea and Little Fishes_ discworld story first published
in a
limited edition freebie sampler dos-a-dos with "The Wood Boy"
by
raymond e. feist. Since published in _Legends_ h/b collection
edited by Robt. Silverberg.
Tsbgofs The Small Boring Group of Faint Stars
TT _The Truth_ Novel published Nov 2000, also TT Motorcycle races held
anually on the Isle of Man
TTFN, ttfn ta-taa for now [cf. BBFN, BFN, GBFN (q.v.)] although more recent
research by Orjan has unearthed an alternative theory:
"originally the farewell the dancers at the Royal Ballet Company
shouted at their lovers as they were bodily dragged to rehersals
by their stern taskmasters. It stands, of course, for 'TuTu For Now',
and in this sinple phrase the dancers managed to convey the loss of
parting as well as their love for their art; a love that meant more
to them than even their devoted lovers."
TTTO To the tune of - from the semi legendary BBC R4 program ISIHAC
in which the contestants are invited to sing 'one song to the tune
of another'. On afp TTTO is often used when posting filks.
TUC _The Unadulterated Cat_<fx: bright pink ppint.> (thanks, michael);
Trades Union Congress; a proprietory brand of light, salty biscuit.
Due to republished October 2002. To the joy of hapless hunters
in second hand shops.
TV An arrangement of channels, sidebands, line/frame rates and sound
carriers/modulation. Germany, the Nordic countries and many others
use system B on VHF and G on UHF. The only real difference is that
the channels are wider in system G. The picture and sound are spaced
5.5MHz apart. System I, used in UK and Ireland on UHF, keeps'em 6MHz
apart. System K, used by Francophones, keeps'em 6.5MHz apart. System
M (USA/Japan) has them 4.5MHZ apart. Other tiny differences: System M
proscribes 60 525-line frames per second, the others 50 625-line fps.
System K has AM sound, the others FM sound. As for colour, the usual
arrangement is: PAL-B/G, PAL-I, SECAM-K and NTSC-M. There are (and
were) other systems about that I can't recall at the moment. IIRC,
system N is system M modified for 625/50. It's used in parts of South
America with either NTSC or PAL colour. (thanks Reynir)
TWOC, Taking WithOut Consent [of the owner, implicit]; ukpolicespeak for
twoc the practice referred to in the tabloids as "joyriding" - stealing
cars and driving dangerously, frequently under the influence of
alcohol, etc, and [? mostly ?] under-age for drinking or driving.
hence the verb, "to twoc"; & the gerund, "twoccing" [hard "c"]
T5E, TFE _The Fifth Elephant_, 24th DW novel, published Nov '99. T5E is the
preferred acronym on the newsgroups - TFE is here for information.
ube unsolicited bulk e-mail [cf. uce, below]
uce unsolicited commercial e-mail - junk-mail via the 'net; as opposed
to "spam" & "velveeta", which are in this context abuse of newsnet
UK, uk the united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland (which
incorporates within its boundaries the kingdoms and principalities
of scotland and of wales. not included therein: the isle of man;
the channel islands (these are in origin, the remnants of the
duchy of normandy, and may fairly lay claim to include the u.k...)
UL urban legend - a modern story or "fact" widely bruited, with _no_
known authoritative source; frequently disproven, but still current.
The concept can be traced back at least as early as the 18th century,
and even earlier.
_The Choking Doberman_ is believed to be directly descended from
"The Robber's Bride". Jan Brunvald possibly invented the term.
(Thank you Tamar!)
UN _Uberwald Nights_; United Nations
UP _Unclear Physics_
USA, usa merkia [which is, itself, a back-formation from "Merkin" (q.v.),
name modelled on "mercia", the saxon kingdom]; the united states
of america (<fx: thinks>: does this imply that all other american
states are disunited - canadadada, we know about, but...?) native
of which political entity being "merkins".
UU, uu the Unseen University
UUC _The Unseen University Challenge_ (no, i don't know what happened
to the "T" - maybe ask merkins (q.v.) about a gala in boston ?)
(the discworld quizbook written by david langford)("our" dave l.)
UUD Unseen University Diary [for the year 1998 A.D. (q.v.)]
VAT, Value Added Tax. a regressive tax levied upon every stage of man-
v.a.t. ufacture or transfer of ownereship in the EC (q.v.) upon the real
or fancied increase in the goods' or services' so taxable value
by calculation of the tax owing, less the tax refund payable if
correctly calculated and claimed. all goods and services in the
EC are either "exempt" or "vattable", though vattable goods may
be "zero-rated": but once a zero-rated item is moved to a higher
rate of v.a.t, it cannot ever again be re-zero-rated...
...and an honest trader's nightmare: bring back purchase tax !
VHS Video Home System: JVC's proprietory videocassette system format,
but n.b. variations of electronic standards mean that incompatib-
ilities do exist between VHS videos from different areas [see NTSC,
PAL]: more expensive dual standard players exist, but ask before
you buy ! VHS defeated the technically superior BetaMax system
through clever marketing, and Sony's (and Philips') inverse.
*vom* ejaculation indicative of excess (vide context, as to whether the
excess in question be of alcohol, "loveydoveyness", joy, or of un-
diluted *cute*). derived by abbreviation ["vomit"], from the famous
scene in Monty Python's Meaning of Life where mr. creosote's urgent
requirement for a bucket at the end of a light meal becomes clear.
the phrase "reach me my vom bucket" achieved popularity in the uk
in the late 20th century as a result. [thanks, mike.]
W _Wintersmith_ Discworld children's novel, the third to
feature
Tiffany Aching. Due to be published September 2006
WA _Witches Abroad_; wallace arnold; western australia
WAIS Western Antarctic Ice Shelf; also Wide Area Information Service.
WBDE WallBro Discworld Event involving various alcoholic bevarages -
"or so i'm told"... - last wbde was 5/12/98; the next will be ?
[provisional entry: suggested by dmark, but not yet in afpusage]
WFM _The Wee Free Men_; Discworld Novel published May 2003, written with
junior readers in mind.
WIHIHH "what in hell is happening here" which comes from Uncle Roger,
mostly) Flight magazine. It may be of RAF origin. (thanks Dave and
others)
WitH _Words in the Head_
WMC _Where's My Cow_; Children's Discworld Novel published Oct
'05
featuring Vimes and his son.
WRT, wrt with regard [respect] to
WS _Wyrd Sisters_; william shakespeare
WTF what the fuck*
WTH what the hell...?
WWACCDE99 We Weren't At CCDE '99. Or perhaps We Wibbled At CCDE '99? Either
way an organisation built on Lune-tic foundations...
WYBM.. will you be my..("..S-D" "..sugar-daddy" [thank-you, karen], etc.)
WYJMH, sH will you join my harem (sub-harem) [after WYMM (q.v.)] a by-blow
or off-shoot of the Great Temple Affaire [or Disaster]. ask gid.
WYMM, wymm will you marry me ? (the afpuse of the abbreviation may be taken
as a reliable guide as to the sincerity of, and the depth of, the
feelings involved upon the part of the purported supplicant... -
and is properly answered by counterquestion by acronym, such as
"SHM(M)HYG ?" (q.v.), by misdirection, or by dignified silence...)
Y2K, Y2k the year 2000 [A.D.] (q.v.): with which, many pcs (q.v.) and other
sundry devices utilising silicon as an alternative grey matter
anticipated problems; *not* the start of the new millennium, but was
nevertheless be observed as such, by many, doubtless the same many,
who in order to be quite fair you understand, and ensure there could
be no risk of missing the Real Thing [tm] re-celebrated on New Years
Eve 2000
YHBT you have been trolled (a practice not greatly encouraged upon AFP);
hence: YKYHBTW (phrase): you know YHBT when (circumstances)
YMMV, ymmv your mileage may vary (merkinism) your opinion may differ: derived
from the "so you can't sue us" clause in car advertisements quoting
a mileage figure for fuel consumption, so also may be used to mean
that your _experimental_results_, i.e. your experiences, may differ.
YHN your humble narrator
yp/b yuppieback: paperback formed by uk h/cvr (q.v.) signatures being
trimmed and glued into card covers. [originated by the originator
of "FAQ Acronymphomania ! [M]"; now widespread trade terminology
in the uk.] [in origin, contemptuous; now not _necessarily_ so.]
[see also mmp/b, p/b, tp/b]
YYUR,YYUB "... ICURYY4ME" <g>
* - abbreviations now most oftenly used without any necessary
implication or meaning of great force, or desire to offend...
the coy may wish to imagine polite alternatives to parts of
the verb, "to fuck": the polite may choose to avoid these
expressions - and their abbreviations - completely...or substitute
the words "fascist", "friendly" or "functional" as preferred by
some afper's:^);)
------!------!------!------!------!------!------!------!------!-----!------
- that's all i've been able to think of, or have noticed on AFP (q.v.), or
have been advised of & see to be of afprelevance, since agreeing the need
for, and offering to compile, this list. many thanks to everyone else
on AFP who's helped, hindered, or may yet help in the future, and
*especially* to tracy ("tj") wilkinson, who did a *lot* of the early work.
- thanks to terry crisp, gabriel krabbe, & erik green, and Jann Thomsen for
the information to improve the entries for NTSC, PAL and VHS - and to
catweasel, for the alternative explanations for "PAL" & "SECAM": they
should not be held culpable for any errors paraphrased into their
explanations.
--
Karen@lspace.org