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Quick Reference & How-To's > Common Acronyms: What Does it All Mean, Basil?!

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message 1: by Steph, Serious series addict (new)

Steph (angel4492) | 32703 comments We've all used them, seem them or wondered WTH?
Add any you commonly use and think people may be questioning

Chat Acronyms & Meanings

IMO = In My Opinion (sometimes IMHO = In my humble opinion)
WTH = What the heck/ll
WTF = What the frick
HEA = Happily Ever After
ETA = Edited to Add
H/h = Hero/heroine
KWIM= Know What I Mean
TSTL= Too Stupid To Live
LOL = Laughing Out Loud
LMAO = Laughing My A$$ Off
ROFLMAO = Rolling on the Floor Laughing My A$$ Off
TBR = To Be Read
DNF = Did Not Finish
IIRC = If I Remember Correctly
ARC = Advance Reading Copy
NSFW = Not Safe For Work (typically photos)

Genre Acronyms & Meanings

PNR = Paranormal Romance
UF = Urban Fantasy
SF = Science Fiction & Fantasy
SFR = Sci-Fi Romance
HR = Historical Romance
ER = Erotic Romance
IR = Interracial Romance
CR = Contemporary Romance
RS = Romantic Suspense
DH = Dark Horror

Series Acronyms & Meanings

BDB = Black Dagger Brotherhood (JR Ward)
LoTU= Lords of the Underworld (Gena Showalter)
IAD = Immortals after Dark (Kresley Cole)
CLV = Chicagoland Vampires (Chloe Neill)
NHW = Night Huntress / World (Jeaniene Frost)
GH = Guild Hunters (Nalini Singh)
HoN = House of Night (PC & Kristin Cast)
MB = Midnight Breed (Lara Adrian)
VA = Vampire Academy (Richelle Mead)
WoTO = Women of the Otherworld (Kelley Armstrong)
HP = Harry Potter (JK Rowling)
SS = Sookie Stackhouse (Charlaine Harris)


message 2: by Laura Lulu (new)

Laura Lulu (lauralulu) | 1603 comments Funny: my kids and I still make fun of my husband, who thought LOL meant "Lots of Love". Dork. :)


message 3: by Amber (new)

Amber (crazyaboutbooks) | 499 comments HEHE thats cute LL


message 4: by Steph, Serious series addict (new)

Steph (angel4492) | 32703 comments You're gettin' and givin' lots of love on GR! :D


message 5: by Laura Lulu (new)

Laura Lulu (lauralulu) | 1603 comments Lol. ;)


message 6: by Steph, Serious series addict (new)

Steph (angel4492) | 32703 comments Back at cha! ;)


Karin Elisabeth (goodreadscomkarinelisabeth) | 151 comments Thank you so much for starting this - English is not my first language and I have been wondering for a long time:
WTH does AOWL mean? Can anyone help me?


message 8: by Josie (new)

Josie | 1967 comments AOWL?? I've never heard of that one. Sorry I couldn't help, the only one that's close is AWOL. Ooh, I'm curious!


Karin Elisabeth (goodreadscomkarinelisabeth) | 151 comments Josie wrote: "AOWL?? I've never heard of that one. Sorry I couldn't help, the only one that's close is AWOL. Ooh, I'm curious!"

Thanks so much for answering so quickly!
Could it be that I mixed up letters(ducks in shame!) - as I said, English is not my first language! Anyway: what is AWOL?


message 10: by Josie (new)

Josie | 1967 comments Don't worry lol!
I think (so anyone correct me if I'm wrong!) the actual acronym is something like 'absent without leave'. In context, if a person says, 'so and so's gone awol' it could mean a few things like, they're missing (not in a serious lost person way, just temporarily) or have gone a bit crazy etc. Although it's probably different in other countries so I'm sure someone else will anwser in a much better way, lol!


message 11: by Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required (new)

Sandra | 25908 comments I think you've done a great job Josie.

AWOL originally came from the military - absent with out leave.

Generally now used in normal speak as Josie said.


message 12: by Judithe, Soap Operas never end.... (new)

Judithe | 6566 comments Fun refresher, "Oh, so that's what it actually means!" list! Thanks!


message 13: by Literary Ames (new)

Literary Ames (amyorames) | 1854 comments Thanks Steph! I didn't know ETA meant that as I've always taken it as Estimated Time of Arrival. This makes more sense now, Lots of Love, Amy. LOL! ;)


message 14: by Steph, Serious series addict (new)

Steph (angel4492) | 32703 comments LOL! Welcome. Please add any as you come across them.

Perfect definition of AWOL, guys. My military hubby would be in serious trouble if he was AWOL, but around here we just mean we haven't heard from them in a while.

Very similar to MIA = missing in action. (That also has a much stronger meaning for those in the military)


message 15: by Karin Elisabeth (new)

Karin Elisabeth (goodreadscomkarinelisabeth) | 151 comments Josie wrote: "Don't worry lol!
I think (so anyone correct me if I'm wrong!) the actual acronym is something like 'absent without leave'. In context, if a person says, 'so and so's gone awol' it could mean a few..."


Thank you, Josie - that was exactly what I was looking for - the contexts I read that had to do with military!


message 16: by Karin Elisabeth (new)

Karin Elisabeth (goodreadscomkarinelisabeth) | 151 comments I read a new one today - well, it's new to me!
Any idea what ZOMG could mean?
Thanks for answering!


message 17: by Steph, Serious series addict (new)

Steph (angel4492) | 32703 comments Hmmm, I'm not on my computer, so I don't know what the Z means. I can say that OMG = oh my goodness/God.


message 18: by Judithe, Soap Operas never end.... (new)

Judithe | 6566 comments Googled it...wictionary says:

ZOMG
(Internet, slang) an emphatic (intentional) use of the acronym OMG.

Synonyms
ZOMFG


message 19: by Karin Elisabeth (new)

Karin Elisabeth (goodreadscomkarinelisabeth) | 151 comments Judithe wrote: "Googled it...wictionary says:

ZOMG
(Internet, slang) an emphatic (intentional) use of the acronym OMG.

Synonyms
ZOMFG"


Thanks so much


message 20: by Laura Lulu (new)

Laura Lulu (lauralulu) | 1603 comments Amy or "Ames" wrote: "Thanks Steph! I didn't know ETA meant that as I've always taken it as Estimated Time of Arrival. This makes more sense now, Lots of Love, Amy. LOL! ;)"

Ames, ETA still is more broadly known as "Estimated Time of Arrival", ala "What's your ETA?"

But in message board postings, it's "Edited to Add", for when you forgot to add something to your post. :)


message 21: by Steph, Serious series addict (new)

Steph (angel4492) | 32703 comments Good to know, Judithe. I had no idea what the Z was for. :)

Ames, I ?d that one initially too. Had to google that one the first time I saw it. Was reading it thinking ... why are they giving an ETA? LOL!


message 22: by Literary Ames (new)

Literary Ames (amyorames) | 1854 comments I'm glad to see that I wasn't the only one confused!


message 23: by Judithe, Soap Operas never end.... (new)

Judithe | 6566 comments I was too....figured it MUST have some other meaning. Now I know.


message 24: by Karin Elisabeth (new)

Karin Elisabeth (goodreadscomkarinelisabeth) | 151 comments Here I am again with another burning question:
What does SNAFU mean - I can't make any sense of it!


message 25: by Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required (new)

Sandra | 25908 comments SNAFU means a mistake or a problem. Don't know what the letters stand for, if anything though.


message 26: by Karin Elisabeth (last edited Dec 13, 2010 04:02AM) (new)

Karin Elisabeth (goodreadscomkarinelisabeth) | 151 comments Sandra wrote: "SNAFU means a mistake or a problem. Don't know what the letters stand for, if anything though."

Thanks for the answer, Sandra. I still wonder if the letters mean something.


message 27: by Sandra J (new)

Sandra J Weaver (sandraweaver) | 145 comments They mean "Situation Normal, All F***** Up." At least that's what I've been told.


message 28: by Karin Elisabeth (new)

Karin Elisabeth (goodreadscomkarinelisabeth) | 151 comments Sandra J wrote: "They mean "Situation Normal, All F***** Up." At least that's what I've been told."

Oh,my! Does that apply to several occasions that come to mind or what?
Thanks for the explanation Sandra J!


message 29: by Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required (new)

Sandra | 25908 comments Yes, actually that does ring a bell, Thanks Sandra J!


message 30: by Steph, Serious series addict (new)

Steph (angel4492) | 32703 comments LOL! That one and FUBAR (meaning: f*'d up beyond all recognition) are popular with the Marines. :)


message 31: by Wan (new)

Wan (wanwaddell) | 612 comments I work with them everyday! Ooh Rah!!


message 32: by Steph, Serious series addict (new)

Steph (angel4492) | 32703 comments You do? What do you do, Wan?
Semper Fi!! :D


message 33: by Wan (new)

Wan (wanwaddell) | 612 comments I'm an analyst working for Naval Air System Command at NAS Patuxent River, MD.


message 34: by Steph, Serious series addict (new)

Steph (angel4492) | 32703 comments Very cool! I'm married to a Marine and love the life! Will be bummed when he retires in a few years. Oh well, sure has been a fun ride!


message 35: by Qylie (new)

Qylie | 6 comments Aren't there acronyms for the type of love story a book is.. Like when the author writes about a couple falling in love and then the next book is about a new couple falling in love.. vs.. in UF it's more often 1 couple and a build up to them falling in love and their story progression.


message 36: by Laura Lulu (new)

Laura Lulu (lauralulu) | 1603 comments Qylie, they call that a HEA (happily ever after). You'll usually find HEAs in PNR (paranormal romance) books, or really any romance.

So if it's a PNR series, you can be pretty sure that each book has a different main character, and each book ends with a HEA for those characters.


message 37: by Steph, Serious series addict (new)

Steph (angel4492) | 32703 comments Welcome to the group, Qylie!


message 38: by Steph, Serious series addict (new)

Steph (angel4492) | 32703 comments DTB = Dead Tree Book


I had forgotten to add this one that I questioned a bit ago. Thanks, Sandra & Lethal for clarifying. :)


message 39: by Qylie (new)

Qylie | 6 comments Thanks Steph xD

If PNR is mostly HEA in terms of a love story then what do you call Urban Fantasy?

Maybe someone should make up acronyms for that type of love story?


message 40: by Steph, Serious series addict (new)

Steph (angel4492) | 32703 comments Welcome, Qylie.

Yeah, most every PNR has a Happily Ever After, otherwise not very romantic, I guess. LOL! For Urban Fantasy though, those tend to focus more on the "greater good" or the battle between good and evil, not the romance so much.

This thread might help. "What's the Difference? PNR v. UF" We started a discussion on the differences between PNR and UF.

Of course, there's always a few books/series who's genre will be mainly UF, but have some romance. Same with some newer Sci-Fi, there are more and more SFRs (Sci-Fi Romance) popping up. Young adult novels have a tendency to mash up genres, IMO.

But, who cares about genre if you love the story, that's what matters! :)


message 41: by [deleted user] (new)

Anyone know what GLBT means i seen this one in another group and can't seem to figure it out :D


message 42: by Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required (new)

Sandra | 25908 comments Kat it means Gay Lesbian Bi Transsexual/gender.


message 43: by [deleted user] (new)

Thanks Sandra :-)


Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos) | 1193 comments I almost bought my mom a poster with all the text message slang


message 45: by Steph, Serious series addict (new)

Steph (angel4492) | 32703 comments I feel like I need something like that sometimes.


Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos) | 1193 comments lol I thank we all need one


message 47: by Steph, Serious series addict (new)

Steph (angel4492) | 32703 comments :)


Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos) | 1193 comments What does TBH mean? Anyone know?

HMU means Hit Me Up


Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos) | 1193 comments Here is a site that might help
Urban Dictionary


message 50: by CyberAlmu (new)

CyberAlmu | 302 comments TBH, as far as I know, means To Be Honest...


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