EMAIL & TEXT ABBREVIATIONS AND SHORTHAND
I am one of the very few people left in the U.K. who does not own a mobile phone and, therefore, I have no experience of text messaging.ÃÂ I can only assume the shorthand devised for emails has made the transition to texting. Many of these are more widely used by young people and teenagers;ÃÂ there are some that, if seen being used by your children, should put up a red flag so these I have marked in red! The following are some of the abbreviations used in emails and text messages.ÃÂ | |
Shorthand | Meaning |
ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ 121 | One to one (private chat invitation) |
ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ 2MTH | Too much to handle |
ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ 2U2 | To You, Too |
ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ 411 | All the information |
ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ 420 | Let’s get high/marijuana use |
ÃÂ ÃÂ AAMOF | As A Matter Of Fact |
ÃÂ ÃÂ ADIH | Another day in hell |
ÃÂ ÃÂ ADIP | Another day in paradise |
ÃÂ ÃÂ AFAIK | As Far As I Know |
ÃÂ ÃÂ AFAICÃÂ | As Far As I’m Concerned |
ÃÂ ÃÂ AFAICT | As Far As I Can Tell |
ÃÂ ÃÂ AFK | Away From Keyboard |
ÃÂ ÃÂ ASAP | As Soon As Possible |
ÃÂ ÃÂ BAK | Back At Keyboard |
ÃÂ ÃÂ BBIAS | Be back in a second |
ÃÂ ÃÂ BBIF | Be back in a few |
ÃÂ ÃÂ BBL | Be Back Later |
ÃÂ ÃÂ BFN | Bye for now |
ÃÂ ÃÂ BHL8 | Be home late |
ÃÂ ÃÂ BITMT | But In The Meantime |
ÃÂ ÃÂ BOOMS | Bored out of my mind. |
ÃÂ ÃÂ BOT | Back On Topic |
ÃÂ ÃÂ BRB | Be Right Back |
ÃÂ ÃÂ BTW | By the way |
ÃÂ ÃÂ C4N | Ciao For Now |
ÃÂ ÃÂ CD9 | Code 9 which means ‘parents are around’ |
ÃÂ ÃÂ CRS | Can’t Remember “Stuff” |
ÃÂ ÃÂ CU | See You |
ÃÂ ÃÂ CUL(8R) | See You Later |
ÃÂ ÃÂ CWOT | Complete Waste Of Time |
ÃÂ ÃÂ CYA | See Ya |
ÃÂ ÃÂ DITYID | Did I Tell You I’m Distressed? |
ÃÂ ÃÂ DIY | Do It Yourself |
ÃÂ ÃÂ EOD | End Of Discussion |
ÃÂ ÃÂ ETA | Estimated time of arrival |
ÃÂ ÃÂ EZ | Easy |
ÃÂ ÃÂ F2F | Face To Face |
ÃÂ ÃÂ FAQ | Frequently Asked Questions |
ÃÂ ÃÂ FBOW | For Better Or Worse |
ÃÂ ÃÂ FOAF | Friend Of A Friend |
ÃÂ ÃÂ FOCL | Falling Off Chair Laughing |
ÃÂ ÃÂ FWIWÃÂ | For What It’s Worth |
ÃÂ ÃÂ FYA | For Your Amusement |
ÃÂ ÃÂ FYI | For Your Information |
ÃÂ ÃÂ /ga | Go Ahead |
ÃÂ ÃÂ GAL | Get A Life |
ÃÂ ÃÂ GBTW | Get Back To Work |
ÃÂ ÃÂ GFC | Going For Coffee |
ÃÂ ÃÂ GFETE | Grinning From Ear To Ear |
ÃÂ ÃÂ GMTA | Great Minds Think Alike |
ÃÂ ÃÂ GR&D | Grinning, Running & Ducking |
ÃÂ ÃÂ GTG | Got To Go |
ÃÂ ÃÂ GTGTTBR | Got To Go To The Bathroom |
ÃÂ ÃÂ GTR | Got to run |
ÃÂ ÃÂ GTRM | Going To Read Mail |
ÃÂ ÃÂ HAND | Have A Nice Day |
ÃÂ ÃÂ HHIS | Head hanging in shame |
ÃÂ ÃÂ HHOK | Ha Ha Only Kidding |
ÃÂ ÃÂ HTH | Hope This Helps |
ÃÂ ÃÂ IAC | In Any Case |
ÃÂ ÃÂ IAE | In Any Event |
ÃÂ ÃÂ IC | I See |
ÃÂ ÃÂ IDGI | I Don’t Get It |
ÃÂ ÃÂ ILBL8 | I’ll be late |
ÃÂ ÃÂ IMCO | In My Considered Opinion |
ÃÂ ÃÂ IMHO | In My Humble Opinion |
ÃÂ ÃÂ IMNSHO | In My Not So Humble Opinion |
ÃÂ ÃÂ IMO | In My Opinion |
ÃÂ ÃÂ IMPE | In My Previous/Personal Experience |
ÃÂ ÃÂ IMSB | I’m so bored |
ÃÂ ÃÂ IMVHO | In My Very Humble Opinion |
ÃÂ ÃÂ IOTTMCO | Intuitively Obvious To The Most Casual Observer |
ÃÂ ÃÂ IOWÃÂ | In Other Words |
ÃÂ ÃÂ IRL | In Real Life |
ÃÂ ÃÂ ISPÃÂ | Internet Service Provider |
ÃÂ ÃÂ IYKWIM | If You Know What I Mean |
ÃÂ ÃÂ JIC | Just In Case |
ÃÂ ÃÂ J/K | Just kidding |
ÃÂ ÃÂ KK | Okay, okay (I understand what you are saying) |
ÃÂ ÃÂ KISS | Keep It Simple Stupid |
ÃÂ ÃÂ KPC | Keeping parents clueless |
ÃÂ ÃÂ L8TR | Later |
ÃÂ ÃÂ LD | Later Dude |
ÃÂ ÃÂ LDR | Long distance relationship |
ÃÂ ÃÂ LGH | Let’s get high |
ÃÂ ÃÂ LH6 | Let’s have sex |
ÃÂ ÃÂ LHOS | Let’s have online sex |
ÃÂ ÃÂ LIK | Liquor |
ÃÂ ÃÂ LOL | Laughing Out Loud |
ÃÂ ÃÂ LTHTT | Laughing too hard to type |
ÃÂ ÃÂ LTNS | Long Time No See |
ÃÂ ÃÂ LYLAB | Love you like a brother |
ÃÂ ÃÂ LYLAS | Love you like a sister |
ÃÂ ÃÂ MorF | Male or Female, or person who asks that question |
ÃÂ ÃÂ MTCW | My Two Cents Worth |
ÃÂ ÃÂ NP | No problem or Nosy parents |
ÃÂ ÃÂ NRN | No Reply Necessary |
ÃÂ ÃÂ OMG | Oh my God! |
ÃÂ ÃÂ ONNA | Oh No, Not Again! |
ÃÂ ÃÂ OTOH | On The Other Hand |
ÃÂ ÃÂ OTTOMH | Off The Top Of My Head |
ÃÂ ÃÂ OIC | Oh I See |
ÃÂ ÃÂ OTF | On The Floor |
ÃÂ ÃÂ OLL | Online Love |
ÃÂ ÃÂ P911 | Parents coming into room (alert) |
ÃÂ ÃÂ PAW or 9 | Parents are watching |
ÃÂ ÃÂ PCMCIA | People Can’t Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms |
ÃÂ ÃÂ PIR | Parents in room |
ÃÂ ÃÂ PLS | Please |
ÃÂ ÃÂ POV | Point of View or Parent over shoulder (if used by teenagers) |
ÃÂ ÃÂ PSOS | Parents standing over shoulder |
ÃÂ ÃÂ PU | That Stinks! |
ÃÂ ÃÂ REHI | Hello Again (re-Hi!) |
ÃÂ ÃÂ ROFL | Rolling On Floor Laughing |
ÃÂ ÃÂ ROTF | Rolling On The Floor |
ÃÂ ÃÂ ROTFL | Rolling On The Floor Laughing |
ÃÂ ÃÂ RSN | Real Soon Now |
ÃÂ ÃÂ RTDox | Read The Documentation/Directions |
ÃÂ ÃÂ RTFM | Read The Frickin’ Manual |
ÃÂ ÃÂ RUOK | Are You OK? |
ÃÂ ÃÂ SNAFU | Situation Normal; All Fouled Up |
ÃÂ ÃÂ SO | Significant Other |
ÃÂ ÃÂ SOL | Smiling Out Loud (or You’re Out of Luck) |
ÃÂ ÃÂ TANSTAAFL | There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch |
ÃÂ ÃÂ TAFN | That’s All For Now |
ÃÂ ÃÂ TEOTWAWKI | The End Of The World As We Know It |
ÃÂ ÃÂ THX | Thanks |
ÃÂ ÃÂ TIA | Thanks In Advance |
ÃÂ ÃÂ TLK2UL8R | Talk to you later |
ÃÂ ÃÂ TMK | To My Knowledge |
ÃÂ ÃÂ TOS | Terms Of Service |
ÃÂ ÃÂ TPTB | The Powers That Be |
ÃÂ ÃÂ TSWC | Tell Someone Who Cares |
ÃÂ ÃÂ TTBOMK | To The Best Of My Knowledge |
ÃÂ ÃÂ TTFN | Ta-Ta For Now |
ÃÂ ÃÂ TTYL(8R) | Talk To You Later |
ÃÂ ÃÂ TTYS | Talk to your soon |
ÃÂ ÃÂ TWIMC | To Whom It May Concern |
ÃÂ ÃÂ Txs | Thanks |
ÃÂ ÃÂ UOK | Are you OK? |
ÃÂ ÃÂ URL | Web Page Address |
ÃÂ ÃÂ w/b | Welcome Back |
ÃÂ ÃÂ w/o | Without |
ÃÂ ÃÂ WRT | With Regard To |
ÃÂ ÃÂ WTG | Way To Go |
ÃÂ ÃÂ WU? | What’s Up? |
ÃÂ ÃÂ WWW | World Wide Web |
ÃÂ ÃÂ WYSIWYG | What You See Is What You Get |
ÃÂ ÃÂ Y2K | Year 2000 |
ÃÂ ÃÂ YGIAGAM | Your Guess Is As Good As Mine |
ÃÂ ÃÂ YGWYPF | You Get What You Pay For |
ÃÂ ÃÂ YMMV | Your Mileage May Vary |
ÃÂ ÃÂ ZZZ | Sleeping |
It is very difficult for any parent to keep tabs on text activity of their children. This guide on text message monitoring is the ultimate how-to for everything from parental knowledge to technical support. |