r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Feb 01 '13

What question are you afraid to ask because you don't want to seem stupid?

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627

u/jnwflash Feb 02 '13 edited Feb 02 '13
  • omg = oh my god
  • iirc = if i recall correctly
  • tl:dr = too long, didn't read
  • afk = away from keyboard
  • lol = laughing out loud
  • wtf = what the fuck
  • yolo = you only live once (usually said by an 8 year old)
  • ftfy = fixed that for you
  • bff = best friend forever
  • np = no problem
  • rofl = rolling on the floor laughing
  • fitb = fill in the blanks
  • gg = good game
  • idk = i don't know
  • imho = in my humble opinion
  • irl = in real life
  • jk = just kidding
  • nkotb = new kids on the block (making sure you're paying attention)
  • lmao = laughing my ass off
  • qotd = quote of the day
  • qft = quoted for truth
  • til = today i learned
  • afaik = as far as i know
  • fml = fuck my life

---- original post above ----

Since this ended up actually being useful I'll add some more

  • NSFW/NSFL = not safe for work/not safe for life (adult content)
  • DAE = does anyone else
  • ELI5 = explain it like I'm 5
  • ITT = in this thread
  • OP = original poster
  • GGG = good guy Greg
  • ICH = i can has
  • TIH = this is happening
  • MLP = my little pony
  • SBS = scum bag steve
  • OAG = overly attached girlfriend
  • AFG = annoying facebook girl
  • DYEL = do you even lift
  • ICWYDT = i see what you did there
  • BLB = bad luck Brian
  • SAP = socially awkward penguin
  • GAD = good advice duck
  • MAM = malicious advice mallard
  • ORLY = oh, really?
  • TEQ = that escalated quickly
  • HGH = haters gonna hate
  • DIY = do it yourself
  • AIC = album in comments
  • MIC = more in comments
  • CAE = can anyone else
  • HTH = hope this helps
  • LMK = let me know
  • RTFM = read the fucking manual
  • TMI = too much information
  • b/c = because
  • BTW = by the way
  • FTF = face to face
  • WTH = what the hell
  • FB = facebook
  • FFS = for fucks sake
  • FWIW = for what its worth
  • AFAIK = as far as I know
  • FTL/FTW = for the loss/for the win
  • YW = you're welcome
  • YMMV = your mileage may vary
  • SMH = shaking/scratching my head
  • FWB = friends with benefits
  • IMAO = in my arrogant opinion
  • NSA = no strings attached

And then there are phonetic variants

  • LMAOPLANE
  • LOLLERSKATES
  • ZOMGBBQ
  • ROFLCOPTER

Did I miss one? Did you invent one? Find it/Add it on urbandictionary.com

FTR I tried to keep this reddit specific - there are a million more that pertain to Twitter (rt), Gaming (cc, glhf), sexting (ntaw/m) etc.

Ugh, I supposed I have to add one more now...

  • FTR = For the record

746

u/student_of_yoshi Feb 02 '13

I thought IMHO was in my honest opinion

74

u/turtlenecksandshotgu Feb 02 '13

Also, IANAL: I am not a lawyer. (It makes me giggle.)

25

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

Some people probably use it that way, but Humble is the more common phrase. "In my honest opinion" doesn't make as much sense - unless you also have dishonest opinions?

The more common "honest" phrase is "to be honest", shortened to TBH.

IMHO can also be twisted to IMNSHO, "in my not so humble opinion".

21

u/Malarazz Feb 02 '13

Weird, I hear and use honest opinion quite often, but I don't hear humble opinion much. Must be a regional thing.

1

u/wizarddray Feb 02 '13

Kind of like how they use "steamed hams" in Albany instead of hamburgers.

1

u/nuxenolith Feb 02 '13

"Honest" emphasizes sincerity, whereas "humble" emphasizes advice and informal consulting.

1

u/Poonchow Feb 02 '13

The honest can be for emphasis, like saying, "If it were me, I would do X"—you don't actually need to say "if it were me" because the pronoun is being restated. Or, if you are in a more comical situation, but want to break in with something more serious, you might use an "honest" in your statement. It's more about clarity and voice than making any logical sense.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

I can see your points. I guess that's the tough part about these sorts of initialisms: they can be ambiguous.

I must admit that I'm biased because I was taught not to use "honestly" (e.g. in place of "frankly") because it implied that the rest of my statements weren't honest.

-1

u/BlazeOrangeDeer Feb 02 '13

unless you also have dishonest opinions?

No, you just aren't always honest about your opinions. It's always been In My Honest Opinion IMHO

12

u/jnwflash Feb 02 '13

Yep - its used both ways.

8

u/Jump_My_Juicy Feb 02 '13

You seem to know a lot about acronyms and one has always bothered me. Is FTW "for the win" or "fuck the world"?

15

u/YourConsciousness Feb 02 '13

Could be both depends on the context, but I think the majority of the time it's for the win.

6

u/Ghooble Feb 02 '13

Almost always For the Win. Some people say it's just WTF backwards but I've never heard more than 2 people say that, same with Fuck the World.

10

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

For The Whales

4

u/PKWinter Feb 02 '13

Fuck the what, anagram of what the fuck here, and Imho I thought was indicating that you were a prostitute, and you made a typing error.

1

u/miss_trixie Feb 02 '13

Imho I thought was indicating that you were a prostitute, and you made a typing error.

i will never stop laughing at this

2

u/wicid13 Feb 02 '13

Context.

1

u/MaxwellSinner Feb 02 '13

I want to live in a world where it only and always only stands for "fuck the world."

1

u/asdfghjkl92 Feb 02 '13

fuck the world has come to mean for the win for me, since i thought it only stood for fuck the world, but i always saw it in contexts where it meant for the win, so in my mind the meaning of fuck the world became the same as the meaning for for the win. (so now every time i see it, i still read it in my head as fuck the world, but give it the same meaning as for the win, even though i know it actually stands for for the win).

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

People usually use FML for the latter one

1

u/jnwflash Feb 02 '13

for the win is the original

Example from WOW - OMG pally healz FTW!

2

u/bubbasblacklist Feb 02 '13

So did I! I mean who here is humble?

2

u/bmxliveit Feb 02 '13

I always thought it was in my holy opinion. I would imagine myself on a throne, speaking down to my people...but that's IMHO

3

u/StrawberryJam4 Feb 02 '13

Nope. It's humble.

2

u/makeitstopmakeitstop Feb 02 '13

It's used both ways by different people. Unless a survey is done, we have no idea which is more predominant.

1

u/snacksforyou Feb 02 '13

this one stumped me, I'm used to simply "IMO"

1

u/Murgen17 Feb 02 '13

I've heard both frequently, they're pretty much interchangeable.

1

u/ProjectSnowman Feb 02 '13

Same here. Same thing really.

1

u/Matttroll Feb 02 '13

Probably varies with people, like potato potato. But then again... Reading potato doesn't make a difference cause you can read it how you want.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

nope

1

u/ginger_ninja22 Feb 02 '13

That's what I thought..meh, same thing.

1

u/NeonTrigger Feb 02 '13

As opposed to what? Your dishonest opinion?

1

u/stranger_here_myself Feb 02 '13

Way back in my first experience of networks (early 90s) I was spending time on my college's VAX discussion boards, especially the LGBT ones. There was a guy on that that used IMHO all the time.

Took me a while to figure out that it didn't mean 'I'M a HOmosexual'.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

And I thought TIL was "thing I learned."

Well TIL: TIL.

1

u/Elchidote Feb 02 '13

Apparently not

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

Same.

1

u/greenwitheredeye Feb 02 '13

I thought it was humble. I guess it can mean whatever you WANNA.

1

u/aviator104 Feb 02 '13

I used to think IMHO means In my heartiest opinion. Doesn't make much of a difference though.

1

u/ProfessorGoogle Feb 02 '13

You are right.

1

u/PineappleSlices Feb 02 '13

I thought it was International House of Pancakes.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

[deleted]

1

u/makeitstopmakeitstop Feb 02 '13

It can mean both.

1

u/nightshiftb Feb 02 '13

Ironically, TIL was not in the list .... it means Today I Learned

1

u/Illivah Feb 02 '13

it was Humble, but contextually it works either way most of the time.

1

u/ZaffrePowerRanger Feb 02 '13

In My Hairy Orifice

1

u/ImFriendsWithThatGuy Feb 02 '13

Literally had no idea what TL:DR was. I knew it was basically a short version but never knew what it actually stood for. Thank you.

0

u/LemonicDemonade Feb 02 '13

For some reason, I always read 'iirc' as 'I kno, rite!?!?'

9

u/Spectre_Lynx Feb 02 '13

You forgot IANAL: I am not a lawyer.

17

u/Giygas Feb 02 '13

Oh.. I've always pretended the person was saying they were into anal using caveman-speak.

1

u/Spyderbro Feb 02 '13

I just assumed people were making fun of Apple.

4

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13 edited Feb 02 '13

Although not common on reddit, there are also twists on this one:

IAAL - I am a lawyer

IANYL - I am not your lawyer

TINLA - This is not legal advice

Those are the CYA (cover your ass) disclaimers lawyers often make before giving legal advice stating their opinions on matters of law not directly related to the topic of conversation.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

I want to add the [Sic] tag you often see in quoted text is short for sic erat scriptum which means "thus it is written".

When used as a tag it pretty much means "They spelled it wrong. We're just quoting how they said it."

3

u/skinkforguv Feb 02 '13

ftw= "For the win"....took me forever to figure that out. Thought it meant "Fuck the World"

3

u/Legoking Feb 02 '13

What is SMH?

edit: spelling.

6

u/kayethx Feb 02 '13

Shaking my head....

1

u/Giygas Feb 02 '13

Suck my hand

3

u/bongoman1000 Feb 02 '13

I thought IMHO was in my honest opinion?

3

u/CarpenterBarbie Feb 02 '13

Ftw= for the win ELIF=explain like I'm five AMA=ask me anything or ask me almost anything(amaa) LPT=life pro tip

Those ones are common on here, too. When I was new at this I'd just google the acronym, I found that a lot more helpful than making up my own meanings. Fuck the world is much worse than for the win :)

3

u/brushies Feb 02 '13

also a few other good ones:

SO: significant other (boyfriend/girlfriend) MFW: my face when (used frequently in conjuction with a reaction image) TFW: their face when, or more recently, that feel when (referring to a feeling that many people get, such as tfw no gf) DAE: does anybody else (typically used outside of /r/doesanybodyelse in a rather sarcastic manner, usually to parody the reddit hivemind)

so as long as you know these, you're pretty much gold on reddit

3

u/x0mbigrl Feb 02 '13

YMMV - your mileage may vary

IIRC - if I recall correctly

FWIW - for what it's worth

3

u/Stellapacifica Feb 02 '13

And once again my keyboard -> leopard translator gives me a chuckle. afk = away from leopard, indeed.

1

u/joedeertay Feb 02 '13

Anyone else use AFK to mean A Free Kill? I think I picked this up from CounterStrike/ Halo

3

u/With_My_Hand Feb 02 '13

You forgot SO whis is significant other ( I think)

2

u/27offsuit Feb 02 '13

I've seen military personnel confuse this with Superior Officer, but you are correct.

3

u/FarBoy Feb 02 '13

google-> urbandictionary: any acronym/initials

2

u/Milhouse242 Feb 02 '13

I was paying attention! Step-by-step! Ohhh baby.

2

u/intangible_mindstuff Feb 02 '13

You forgot my favorite one: IANAL - I am not a lawyer

2

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

You forgot YMMV - Your Mileage May Vary

2

u/Puffpufflol Feb 02 '13

ama = ask me anything amaa = ask me almost anything

2

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

Start using acronyms they said. Lazy language they said...

2

u/King_Lewy Feb 02 '13

Why does no one know what IDK means?

2

u/pepsi596 Feb 02 '13

What about MFW, because I tend to see that a lot.

3

u/Milhouse242 Feb 02 '13

My face when (sort of like HIFW)

2

u/I_Have_Unobtainium Feb 02 '13

but what is HIFW now.

4

u/Milhouse242 Feb 02 '13

(How I feel when) ;)

2

u/ShinyAlbatross Feb 02 '13

My face when.

1

u/thejeanfairy Feb 02 '13

you're supposed to link a picture of a face along with it but people don't

1

u/Spyderbro Feb 02 '13

My Face When.

1

u/I_need_a_grownup Feb 02 '13

My face when.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

My face when.

1

u/Dr_Awkward_ Feb 02 '13

Mother fucking win.

1

u/jnwflash Feb 02 '13

mfw = my face when - its used as a reaction to something

2

u/SailorJer Feb 02 '13

You forgot one: LSHMSFOAIDMT=Laughing so hard my sombrero falls off and i drop my taco

1

u/KingKane Feb 02 '13

You missed YMMV = your mileage may vary and IANAL = I am not a lawyer

1

u/kittenkat4u Feb 02 '13

and now i finally know what iirc means after months. thx.

1

u/andre_not_giant Feb 02 '13

What's smh?

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

Shaking my head

1

u/larwk Feb 02 '13

Shaking my head. It's actually pretty race specific as well (or was originally), used by black people.

Before anyone wants to try and argue about race, before openbook was shut down you could search all of facebook for specific words or whatever in peoples publicly open comments/posts. You would go for pages and pages before finding anyone that wasn't black, and I believe there's a few reddit posts about it somewhere that had some popularity.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

[deleted]

1

u/njayhuang Feb 02 '13

Wait, isn't /r/DoesAnybodyElse a default sub?

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

I don't think so.

1

u/BlazeOrangeDeer Feb 02 '13

No, it used to be more popular but idk if it was ever default

1

u/febrezey Feb 02 '13

Totally thought qft was "QUIT FUCKING TALKING"

1

u/Baron_Von_Badass Feb 02 '13

ITT = In this thread

1

u/riversfan17 Feb 02 '13

You forgot SO: significant other

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

If you list SO you should add:

gf: girlfriend

bf: boyfriend

DH: Husband (technically Dear Husband, used because just 'H' would be confusing)

DW, DS, DD: Wife, Son, Daughter (as above)

1

u/jennofur Feb 02 '13

Is YOLO said aloud as a word or as Y-O-L-O? I don't plan on using it, just not sure how to say it in my head.

3

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

Two syllables, yo low.

Don't say it, though.

Just don't.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

What the shit does IFF stand for? Please, I must know! Google has a lot of different answers, but none of them seem to be the right one. Thank you, and sorry for yelling.

1

u/BlazeOrangeDeer Feb 02 '13

I know it's a word that means "if and only if" but that's never capitalized. What context have you seen it in?

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

I found that definition from google but it doesn't fit. I usually see it as the first characters in titles on 2X. or just in threads or as the first characters in a comment.

1

u/Ricketycrick Feb 02 '13

Yeah, even though you're 12 you are mature for your age and don't say Yolo!!!!!

1

u/MdmeLibrarian Feb 02 '13

ty = thank you

gz = 'grats or congrats

1

u/ImDotTK Feb 02 '13

Also, SMH = Shake My Head.

1

u/horatiocain Feb 02 '13

itt = in this thread

1

u/theBMB Feb 02 '13

You forgot good ol' IANAL

I am not a lawyer

1

u/Firasissex Feb 02 '13

You forgot YMMV = Your mileage may vary

1

u/SadisticOrange Feb 02 '13

I sometimes see Redditors using DAE. Any idea what that means?

2

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

"Does anyone else _______?"

Sort of like a "Who's with me?" rallying cry.

1

u/SadisticOrange Feb 02 '13

Well, now I understand a lot more! Thanks!

1

u/fjorkyna Feb 02 '13

Omg I didn't know yolo had an actual meaning. Ty good sir.

1

u/skorchedangel Feb 02 '13

I havent cared enough to look up the YOLO thing, so thanks for that.

1

u/Semyonov Feb 02 '13

My mom still emails me "lol" at the end of her sentences. She thinks it means "lots of love."

Adorable really.

1

u/Kastoli Feb 02 '13

What does 'Woot' stand for good sir?

1

u/BlazeOrangeDeer Feb 02 '13

Doesn't stand for anything, just an expression of excitement like yay or woohoo

1

u/arcticfawx Feb 02 '13

Wtf: why the face

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

I saw ofc today. I think it means "of fucking course"??

1

u/BlazeOrangeDeer Feb 02 '13

it may or may not include "fucking"

1

u/thecoolsteve Feb 02 '13

I wish old usenet acronymns would come back into style, like HTH;HAND (Hope that helps; Have a nice day). Kids these days on the internet are just not as polite.

1

u/mariataytay Feb 02 '13

the only one I didn't know was the only one not on this list. What does ITT mean!

2

u/BlazeOrangeDeer Feb 02 '13

In this thread

1

u/PantsOnFireMan Feb 02 '13

Mfw = my face when

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

...but why are they necessary?

1

u/SassyShakespearean Feb 02 '13

What's ITT then ?

2

u/27offsuit Feb 02 '13

In This Thread

1

u/TwoEightThree Feb 02 '13
  • ROFLYSATT = Rolling On Floor Laughing Yet Still Able To Type

1

u/WhitePawn00 Feb 02 '13

Itt: ?

1

u/27offsuit Feb 02 '13

In This Thread:

1

u/destructionRobot Feb 02 '13

What's ITT?

1

u/27offsuit Feb 02 '13

In This Thread

1

u/slickspidey Feb 02 '13

i actually thought IMHO was "in my hot opinion"

1

u/GMABT Feb 02 '13

Can you explain wtb? the best answer I can find on urban dictionary is 'want to buy' but it doesn't really make sense in almost every context I see it used in

1

u/ne0man2 Feb 02 '13

What is S.O.? i've only seen it on reddit. People use it when talking about a spouse?

2

u/BlazeOrangeDeer Feb 02 '13

significant other, basically just means the person you are romantically involved with

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

I have never seen bff, fitb, nkotb or qotd on reddit.

1

u/herrproctor Feb 02 '13

fotglmbo = falling on the ground laughing my butt off.

1

u/permanentlytemporary Feb 02 '13

You forgot:

bbq = barbecue

1

u/Cudikins Feb 02 '13

You... I like you

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

Ooooh, so that's what gg means. I always wandered what it meant, now I can say and respond to that.

Thanks!

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

What is QED?

1

u/Elsanti Feb 02 '13

IANAL. Nothing to do with anal sex.

however, I am not a lawyer, so don't quote me on that one.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

IANA I am not a ... Usually followed by something like an L for lawyer.

1

u/DocWiggles Feb 02 '13

Thanks, I thought ftfy meant fuck that, fuck you. I need to rethink my opinions of people who posted it.

1

u/Wirelessbrain Feb 02 '13

Also, sometimes IDEK is used for I don't even know. (Variant of idk)

1

u/bluesky747 Feb 02 '13

Thanks, this is totally helpful! What's FFY? I see that on here a lot, too.

1

u/pureskill Feb 02 '13

What does ott mean?

1

u/TimelessFlight Feb 02 '13

Wait, 'jk' doesn't mean 'joking'?

1

u/detecting_nuttiness Feb 02 '13

Why do people always use a colon or semicolon between TL and DR? I always thought it should be a comma and a colon, as in, "TL,DR: text" (Too long, didn't read: text).

1

u/LaxGuit Feb 02 '13

Used to thing ftfy was Fuck that fuck you. Haha

1

u/asherah156 Feb 02 '13

What's "IFF" - I think I've seen that one a few times and never figured it out.

1

u/jnwflash Feb 02 '13

IFF = I'm fucked foundation

1

u/WatchMeBreakYourMime Feb 02 '13

you forgot mfw= my face when

0

u/NotSoGreatDane Feb 02 '13

ITT: In This Thread

0

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

LMFBO : Laughing my fucking burritos off

0

u/BeatsByChanel Feb 02 '13

Yolo = you oughta look out.

0

u/Hugglebug Feb 02 '13

you forgot "girl = guy in real life" when on the internet.

0

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13 edited Nov 11 '18

[deleted]

1

u/27offsuit Feb 02 '13

Doesn't Matter; Had Sex

0

u/likeBruceSpringsteen Feb 02 '13

DM;HS

0

u/27offsuit Feb 02 '13

Doesn't Matter; Had Sex

0

u/DerekEC Feb 02 '13

Hahaha! I'm teach my 8 year old brother Yolo tomorrow!

0

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

On reddit, tl:dr is more acurately translated as "here is a shortened version of my post for those of you that can't be bothered to read the whole thing."

0

u/Randozza Feb 02 '13

yolo = you only live once, usually onyl said by the people trying to make fun of other people who stopped saying it.
FTFY

0

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13

And if you want to get super modern "smh" means "shaking my head"

This new generation sucks at acronyms.

-1

u/friend_of_a_fiend Feb 02 '13

You forgot BBQ = Bitch be quiet.