- Image by luc legay via Flickr
This past January, I wrote up the “Top 15 Twitter acronyms” for @pistachio‘s Touchbase blog. As readers rightly pointed out, many were abbreviations or initialisms – hence the title for this post. I followed that up with a “Top 10 NSFW Twitter Abbreviations.” This list combines the two, and includes key additions like HT, RE and FML. If you have others you think I missed, please add ’em in the comments – and follow me on Twitter!
@
Reply to [username]
AFAIK
As Far as I Know
b/c
Because
BFN
Bye For now
BR
Best Regards
BTW
By the Way
DM
Direct Message. d username sends one.
EM
Email
FB
Facebook
FF
Usually #FF for Follow Friday. #FollowFriday is supposed to work better than it does. If you #FF someone, take the characters to explain why.
FFS
For F–k’s Sake
FML
F–k My Life
FTF
Face To Face. Also, F2F. Or the Fair Trade Federation. Many other options.
FTL
For The Loss
FTW
For The Win
FWD
Forward
FWIW
For What It’s Worth
HT
Hat tip
HTH
Hope That Helps
IMHO
In My Humble Opinion
IMO
In My Opinion
IRL
In Real Life
J/K
Just Kidding
LI
LinkedIn
LMAO
Laughing My Ass Off
LMK
Let Me Know
NSFW
Not Safe For Work
OH
Overheard
OMFG
Oh My F–king God
OMG
Oh My God
PRT
Partial Retweet (at the start of a tweet). Sometimes “Please Retweet” Old School: Party
RE
In reply to. As in, use RE for @replies on Twitter. Used in front of the @ to ensure all followers can see the conversation. Further ontext: “Community, @replies, #fixreplies and Change”
RR
Re-Run
RT
Retweet
RTF
Read The FAQ. RTFF shows up too. RTF also stands for Rich Text File.
SNAFU
Situation Normal All F–ked Up
SOB
Son Of a Bitch
STFU
Shut The F–k Up
TMB
Tweet Me Back
via
My one cheat: “via” is not an abbreviation or acronym. It simply means that a tweet is from @username, though in some cases it may mean that it’s also an exact retweet. Tricky, this online user-defined lingo and twitribution is.
WTF
What The F–k
WTH
What The Hell
BONUS:
Since this list was first published, some of these have become more popular and others have emerged. RT is still – by far – the most frequent acronym. New additions are added below, along with many suggestions in the comments.
TIL
Today I learned.
TIL in Hawaii that Poke Tacos are a thing.A delicious, delicious thing.
— Xeni Jardin (@xeni) February 19, 2013
NB
Nota Bene. Make sure to read the comments, where there are many great additions.
ICYMI
In Case You Missed IT [HT @BrianStelter]
Update: Justin Kownacki thinks we should stop saying “in case you missed it” on Twitter. (That includes ICYMI, too.) I agree.
CX
Correction
RTQ
Read The Question or Retweet Question
TL
Timeline
RT = retweet, MT = modified tweet, DM = direct message, FF = Follow Friday, h/t = hat tip, TL = Timeline, OH = overheard. Now you know.
— Margarita Noriega (@margafret) April 1, 2014
TL;DR
Too long; Didn’t Read.
TT
Translated Tweet.
Reminder: when I use TT in front of a tweet, it means “translated tweet.” I’m mostly using my high-school French and Google, so be warned.
— Andy Carvin (@acarvin) January 16, 2013
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RLRT: Real Life Retweet. To repeat on Twitter what someone said in person.
RLRT: I love the Internet. – @yurivictor
— Matt Mansfield (@mattmansfield) May 17, 2014
digiphile 
Well this is an interesting post. OMG, AFAIK FWIW I generally try and use ummmm words b/c I can & IMHO IRL, most people do like the fuller word versions. This post did make me LMAO tho.
BFN,
BR,
Katie
Oh & BTW, HTH. ;-)
You forgot a word in the explanation of RTFM…
(As you might guess, I can’t say the word… But, under precedent established above, you’d write F–king in its place, no?)
:-)
IIRC ~~If I remember correctly.
I see that used fairly often.
TY (thank you)
haha, thz for the acronym, i’d liked to use it :D
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OMW – Oh, My word
I actually see this used more as “On My Way.”
Another one that nobody has added is the use of the number 4 to mean “for”. :-)
What the symbol means :-). ;-)
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Thanks for the information..nice collection :D
TQ: as Thank you
TQVM : Thank you very much
TQRT : RT thanks
CZ: cause
BCZ: because
great list by the way :)
Amazing. in spanish TQ es Te Quiero (I want or I love you) and TQM means Te Quiero Mucho ( or I Love you so much). Be careful if your twitt is in spanish
i would love to know more of the spanish ones!
Very insightful and useful too
Did u mean to say … VI&U2 .. LMAO @ my cleverness IIDSSM ( if I do say so myself )
This is not only works with Twitter. I also use some of them while SMS to my friend. Anyway, nice collection.
Thanks!!! This definitely helps me out.
I always used to hate acronyms when people would send them via text messages but it’s starting to become more mainstream…causing me to accept them. :-/
Thanks for the resource!
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Twitter is so inspiring it makes us think of new stuff all the time. Love live inspired Twitter abverbs.
Just subing is that short for subscribing. LOL
great list! I just have two additions
JFGI-Just F*%#ing Google It
ORLY-oh really!
SMH = Shaking My Head
Someone said the other day in a tweet copied to me but the sentiment was directed chiefly to her; as an old-school Usenet buff I recognised it, but I wonder how many Tweeters would. “Grinning, ducking and running” (ie, I expect this comment to make you want to smack me, but in a light-hearted way).
YGTR means you got that right
I’ve got a whole lot that I use all the time. You know us kids… LOL
4U2C- For you to see
B4- Before
BRB- Be Right Back
GTG- Got To Go
F-U (need not explain this)
L8er- Later
Ppl- People
TTYL- Talk To You Later
TTYS- Talk To You Soon
Tmrw- Tomorrow
W/ – With
YT- YouTube
I substitute ‘the’ with d, some ppl sub it w/ e.
Great list! he should def. add all of these as I use them myself!
TY! I’m using them on protest signs. YR the best, TQ!
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Great INFO … THNKS
My current favourite as of yesterday is PMSL – Piss Myself Laughing. Thanks for the list – very useful :D
You forgot IKR= I know right?, srsly= seriously. I’m so bookmarking this page. It’ll come in handy when my teenage nieces txt me.
Awesome info! Thanks for compiling them in one spot.
What in the heck does the # symbol mean in Twitter? I see this placed before keywords a lot. (I can’t find this answer online.)
The # is called a hashtag which confused me b/c that has always been a pound symbol. But anyway it is for trending topics or a trend u would like to start. The # makes it “searchable” so u can search 4 tweets that discuss various topics. Google “hashtag” for an even better explanation.
Basically, a hashtag is a way to make any word in a tweet a keyword or a channel. This idea was started by Twitterers and later incorporated into the Twitter code — they now automatically link to search results for any #hashtag in a tweet. It’s a great way to follow a conversation, conference, event, etc.
Quora.com has some great threads re. hashtag usage. And here’s some info straight from the horse’s mouth:
http://support.twitter.com/entries/49309-what-are-hashtags-symbols
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im trying to find out what POW and LBS stand for
Most people understand POW to mean prisoner of war. LBS can either mean a location-based service, like Gowalla or Foursquare, or lesbian-bisexual, as one might find in a personal ad.
LBS=laughing but serious
Amazing, but TQ is Te Quiero (I love you) in spanish and TQM is Te Quiero Mucho (I love you so much). Be careful if your twitt is followed in hispanic communities. And whata a h. means #?
You forgot a couple: RTFM can be stated as “read the fine manual.” A lot of fine work went into writing it so READ THE FINE MANUAL!
MT – Modified Tweet (for when you must edit for space while retaining the meaning and credit). Created by @Shoq.
FCO – For Crying Outloud…. One of my faves.
RTL = Retweet Love
YRVW = You Are Very Welcome
TYVM = Thank You Very Much
BBL = Be Back Later
TTFN = Ta-Ta For Now
TTYS = Talk To You Soon
C ya = see ya
Great additions.
Good list!
You forgot a treasured oldie that could easily still be used today.
FUBAR
F___ed Up Beyond All Repair.
I’m sure grandad would have appreciated that one.
FUBAR ~ Priceless
I love your list here I think you should incorporate their abbreviations.
I have some that I use
bc = because
w/o = without
b/w = black and white, like in photo.
FUBAR = Fraked Up Beyond All Recognition
CAMEL BACK CODE TO SAVE SPACE LIKE
(1st letter of every word a CAP)
CamelBackCodeToSaveSpaceLike
Thx = Thanks
Pls = Please however others seem to use Plz.
Abt = About
thght = thought
MB = maybe
FFT = Food for thought
FS = For Special
RTFM = Read the fraking manual
RTFP = Read the fine print
w = with
OTC = Over the counter drug or purchase.
n giv = not given
MOW = Meals on Wheels
H2O = Water Element codes used here.
AU = Gold
AG = Silver
Thanks. I listed the most frequent acronyms used on Twitter, but these add more flavor.
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Ive seen pwn and ZOMG but I don’t know what they mean.
pwn is hacker slang for “own,” as in they’ve taken over a computer system. ZOMG is an alternate version of OMG, or oh my god.
FTR / 4TR = For The Record…
4COL/FCOL = For Cryin Out Loud
F/U = Follow Up / F_cked Up
S/U = Screwed Up / Shut Up!
The last two depend on context, and detinitely different than FU! / SU! (Frick you! / Scr_w You!)
I have heard someone on TV say ROFL but I can’t find out what it means. HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)
Usually ROTFL – as in rolling on the floor laughing.
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Uh? And /cc ?
Widely used in Twitter to “carbon copy” a tweet to another user
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What does <3 mean?
<3 = heart/love
SAHM stay at home mom
<3 is a heart ;)
Can anyone tell me what > mean used in a tweet?
cheers!
> (greater than sign)
Great! Really helped me a lot! But what does }: mean? I’ve seen it a few times after a tweet.
}: is a variation of ):- which is a smiley meaning either a frown or a wry grin. :P is sticking out the tongue. =^_^= is a cat; some others work only in Twitter and apps where unicode is supported. There are tons of those. •^•
what does smd stand for?
Please, what’s the meaning of TGIF? Have always wanted the meaning to that.
Thanks God It’s Friday
TGIF = Thank Ghod It’s Friday. Goes back decades.
You missed OMLG – oh my lady ga ga
As per urban dictionary http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=omlg
what’s meant by :D :P
=
An equal sign declares that the author of the tweet has no vested interest in products or companies named in the tweet. It doesn’t require anyone with conflicting interest to disclose them (although they should) — they can simply leave the = off their tweet.
what does #NT mean?
what does tHnM stand for?
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What does “>” mean at the end as in:
John Doe singing on that commerial. >
It’s the greater than sign. As in “this > that” or in that case they are saying John Doe is just great, or greater than anything else
MT = Modified Tweet
What’s the meaning of mxm?
TY for twitteri diction! May the birdies all fly and abound correctly!
Gr8 List. Thx.
AFAIC-as far as im concerned
STE scroll to end
STB scroll to bottom
What does pbst mean?
FYI – for your information (probably fairly obvious these days)
FYR – for your records
FYA – for your action
CYA – cover your a__$
TBD – to be determined
TBA – to be announced
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Thanks for this!
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Really ,really useful
THBL…Throws Head Back Laughing
FOCL…Falls Off Chair Laughing
I prefer ILY===> I love you or IHY====> I hate you.
KOT~Kenyans on twitter
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Ctfu = cracking the freak up
Fwm = f*ck with me as in holla at me or chill with me sometime
PNB Parents Near By
twita..(thats what im talking about)……….gigo (got it going on )
mxm means Maximum
My favorite one -> FISH – F-ck It, Sh-t Happens =D
saw a tweet describing a Taurus as “&”. What does that mean
In some formats, when you put the “and” sign in as “&”… it converts to “&” automatically (and you say, WTF!?) So in those formats you can’t use the abbreviation, you do have to write out “and.”
Reblogged this on EditorEtc LLC and commented:
FWIW…
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Thanks I appreciate the post BR
What does ;) mean? I saw a response “;);););)”
“Q” ?
an empty square?
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What the heck does & mean? I first saw it on instagram
Hmm, I typed in an ampersand, which I know means “and”, followed by the letters amp and only the ampersand showed up in my comment. So I’m assuming it just means and and is some sport of glitch
You figured it out. & — the ampersand – is a way of reducing “and” from 3 characters to 1. I use it all the time on Twitter.
How do you clear your throat on Twitter?
N/G = No Good
Ack – Acknowledged
AMPG – Above my pay grade
BFM – Beats the F out of me
BMT – Before my time
BRG – Be ready to go in (number of minutes)
Civ – Civilization
FM – F’n Magic
MFN – Middle of F’n nowhere (opposite of Civ)
UTL – Unable to locate
I learned some uses in tweets. Thanks
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How did you quantify which we’re the most popular uses of acronyms and initialisms?
Back in 2009, I did a search for each on Twitter and counted up the number of users over the course of a week. They’re not in any order.
Great post! A little used new favorite of mine is: #news2share
Oh thanks. I finally know what TL;DR means
What should be my motto today: *JFDI* = Just F’ing Do It!
Thanks, I REALLY needed this! I’m 62 and just getting started on Twitter! LOL
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If you’re still saying lol in any communication at all, just stop it. It makes you look like an octogenarian trying to be “rad”. Irony intended.
Under twitter acronyms, what does OOMF and CO means?
Please help
One Of My Friends and, most likely, Care Of or Commanding Officer. Depends on context.
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100 Gleans from the list and replies above
They both confirmed and added to those I knew before.
Thank you all! I intended to use several of them in my activist/protest signs.
Indiana’s Grim Reaper Persona
greenenvscithr
(It’s used to expose failure to extend ACA 2010 to ppl who make less than $11,490/year, an A.L.E.C. Agenda/KochBlock. GRP is also used to expose A.L.E.C. Judas Legislators who have turned IndieBama into a Koch-ALEC Plantation Con-Fed-A-Rat State.)
About = Abt
Above my pay grade = AMPG
Acknowledge = Ack
As Far As I’m Concerned = AFAIC
Be Right Back = BRB
Beats The F_ck Out Of Me = BFM
Because = b/c
Before = B4
Bye the way = BTW
Carbon Copy = CC
Care Of = CO (context)
Civilization = Civ
Commanding Officer = CO (context)
Cover Your Ass = CYA
Cracking The Freak Up = CTFU, Ctfu
F_ck It, Shit = FISH
F_cked You = F-U
F_cking Magic = FM
Facebook, Frackbook, or FatBassTurd (who sits on my face) = FB
Falls Off Chair Laughing = FOCL
Follow Up = F/U
Food For Thought = FFT
For = 4
For Crying Outloud = FCO, 4COL, FCOL
For Fuck’s Sake = FFS
For The Loss = FTL
For The Record = FTR
For The Win = Forward
For What It’s Worth = FWIW
For You To See = 4U2C
For Your Action = FYA
For Your Information = FYI
For Your Records = FYR
F_cked Up Beyond All Repair = FUBAR
Got To Go = GTG
Great! = Gr8
I Hate You = IHY
I know right? = IKR
I Love You = ILY
If I Do Say So Myself = IIDSSM
In Case You Missed It = ICYMI
In My Humble Opinion = IMO
Information = INFO, Info
Just F_cking Do It = JFDI
Later = L8er
Laughing But Serious = LBS
Laughing My Ass Off = LMAO
Maximum = mxm
Maybe = MB
Middle of Fucking Nowhere = MFN
No Good = N/G
Oh My F_cking God = OMFG
Oh My God = OMG, ZOMG
Oh My Lady Ga Ga = OMLG
On My Way = OMW
One Of My Friends = OOMF
Over The Counter = OTC
People = Ppl
Piss Myself Laughing = PMSL
Please = Pls or Plz
Prisoner Of War = POW
Read The F_cking Manual = RTFM
Read The Fine Manual = RTFM
Read The Fine Print = RTFP
Retweet Love = RTL
Rolling On The Floor Laughing = ROTFL
Screw You = SU!
Scroll To Bottom = STB
Scroll To End = STE
Search The F_cking Web = STFW
See Ya = C ya
Seriously = Srsly
Shaking My Head = SMH
Situation Normal All F_cked Up = SNAFU
Son of a Bitch = SOB
Stay At Home Mom = SAHM
Symbol, Gold = AU
Symbol, Greater = >
Symbol, Heart/Love = < 3
Symbol, Silver = AG
Symbol, Smile = = : – )
Symbol, Water = H2O
Talk To You Later = TTYL
Talk To You Soon = TTYS
Thank Ghod It’s Friday = TGIF
Thank You Very Much = TYFM
Thanks = TY, THNKS, Thx
The = d
Thought = Thght, Thgt
Throws Head Back Laughing = THBL
To Be Announced = TBA
To Be Determined = TBD
To or Too = 2
Today I Learned = TIL
Tomorrow = Tmrw
Too Much Information = TMI
What The F_ck = WTF
What The Hell = WTH
With = W/ or w
Without = w/o
You Are Very Welcome = YRVW
You Got That Right! = YGTR
YouTube = YT
Idk- I don’t know
Idc- I don’t care
Ikr- I know right
Can anybody tell me the meaning of the word ‘cologar’ ??? It was used in the sentence like – ” I can ‘cologar’ you and him in a dm”.
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Anyone know what TWIYTC Means?
Does someone knows what Q v stands for
What do letters in parentheses mean, such as (y) ?
PMFO= piss me fucking off!!
BFD= big fucking deal
So I recently started selling things I own but no longer need or want online, in ” Swip Swap” and Virtual Yard Sale groups. Those groups have a whole other language! Two of the most commonly used Acronyms
ISO- In Search Of
OBO- Or Best Offer
I felt totally stupid for having to ask what they stood for! I mean I’m 27! I grew up in the ‘dawn of the internet’ age this is suppose to be my thing. LOL So if you need this list to help you navigate the web, don’t feel bad or old, us “youngsters” need it too! 😂
Keep updating but also delete which is deadwood or not being adopted