RIP useless acronyms

Barbara Geere

How many times do you come across an acronym in the middle of an article, with no explanation, as though everyone, of course, knows what it stands for?

After spending bewildered moments raking back through the text in vain, I either make a guess or, confused and irritated, abandon the whole thing.

What is an acronym? The word comes from the Greek akron – ‘end, tip’ – plus onoma – ‘name’. It is defined by the Concise Oxford English Dictionary as a word formed from the initial letters of other words, eg AIDS: ‘acquired immune deficiency syndrome’.

There is even an acronym for the word ‘acronym’: ‘abbreviated coded rendition of name yielding meaning’.

Acronyms often occur in medical, educational, military or business jargon. They began as convenient and succinct tools for specialists, but now hinder communication rather than helping it.

Some acronyms seem particularly inappropriate, eg NICE, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence – considering the painful pronouncements they make.

Other acronyms are spot-on: BLEATERS are ‘born losers expending all their energy rubbishing success’. Or how about BURP – ‘bankrupt, unemployed rejected person’?

Sometimes acronyms are chosen deliberately to avoid a name considered undesirable. In Canada, the Canadian Conservative Reform Alliance Party was quickly renamed the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance.

You can see why.