ICYMI (in case you missed it), acronyms, abbreviations, and initialisms are ways to shorten phrases and ideas both in normal speech and through texting and email. But a common FAQ (frequently asked ...

We’ve been a little self-indulgent and playful during the holiday season, but readers are calling us back to business. Here’s one: For many years I have had anxiety about the plurals of acronyms and ...

I read with some amusement the letter from John Neumeyer regarding the use of acronyms in the literature without identifying their meaning (C&EN, March 30, page 2). I used to believe that any ...

Initially, I didn't think I could say a lot about acronyms. I was wrong. An acronym uses the first letters of a few words to form a new word. The purpose is to shorten a long string of words to one ...

I often remove unwieldy acronyms from articles I'm editing. The writer might assume that all readers know that acronym, but that often isn't so. Webster's New World College Dictionary defines an ...

Acronyms are stronger. Abbreviations are wimpy abbreviated versions of the real thing. Acronyms can take on lives of their own. Consider AARP. It used to mean “American Association of Retired Persons.

Initially, I didn't think I could say a lot about acronyms. I was wrong. An acronym uses the first letters of a few words to form a new word. The purpose is to shorten a long string of words to one ...