Hey, What's a "Bacronym"? – IOTW Report

Hey, What's a "Bacronym"?

Sunday, 2 November 2014, 20:00 Cardigan Home 0

Today I Found Out:

What a backronym is (also commonly spelled bacronym).

In short, a backronym is when you treat a word that is not an acronym as if it was an acronym, constructing a phrase out of the word.  For example: Delta – Doesn’t Ever Leave The Airport

Backronyms are often used for humorous effect as in the example above, but they are also quite commonly used unintentionally. For instance, many people believe the word “wiki” is an acronym for “What I Know Is”, but in fact it is not.  The word ‘wiki’ is derived from the Hawaiian phrase “wiki wiki”, meaning ‘fast’. Thus used as: wiki – What I Know Is,  makes this an example of a backronym.

The earliest known reference to the word backronym in print was in a November 1983 edition of the Washington Post monthly neologism contest. more

Here are some that I’ve heard:

FORD = Fix Or Repair Daily
IROC= Italian Retards Out Cruising
KIA = Korean Industrial Accident
SWAG= Stolen Without A Gun
BING= Bing Is Not Google
FIAT= Fix It Again, Tony

57 Comments on Hey, What's a "Bacronym"?

  5. Of course…

    One
    Big
    Ass
    Mistake,
    America

    If she makes it through the primary this time, which is unlikely…

    Highly
    Inexperienced
    Liberal
    Leftist
    Academically
    Righteous
    Yuppie

  17. @Anonymous — (wish you’d reveal yourself!)

    My dad was a huge Pontiac fan. I remember the high beam indicator was an Indian Chief head lit up in red. In the late 50s, early 60s, Pontiac was a great car.

    Back in the day when it was routine to trade cars every four years, we had a 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972 Pontiac.

    Maybe I’m older than you.

  27. From the first episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.:
    “Agent Ward, what does S.H.I.E.L.D. stand for?”
    “Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistics Division.”
    “And what does that mean to you?”
    “It means someone really wanted our initials to spell out SHIELD.”

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