The advent of social media has given rise to a plethora of acronyms that simplify the process of typing on a tiny keyboard. But every now and then I find myself having to Google an acronym because it is just not clear to me.

LOL? I get that. ROFLMAO? Check. But who in the world are the WILD people referred to in one text? Why, the Women’s Institute for Leadership Development, of course. Should have known. I guess I’m just PEBKAC (Problem Exists Between Keyboard and Chair.)

What gets me is how some of these acronyms have leapt from the screen to the tongue. The other day, I actually heard someone reply to another, “Ell-Oh-Ell.” To which the only intelligent response would be “Double-You-Tee-Eff.” Sadly, I have also heard that. Apart from the silliness of it, it diminishes the emotional satisfaction that comes from the actual words used in just the right moment. As George Takei put it in his very amusing book “Oh Myyy”, saying “Shoot!” when you mean “Shit!” is like turkey bacon. It just doesn’t get the job done. But I digress.

The ubiquity of the acronym “WTF” must have come as an unwelcome surprise to the Wisconsin Tourism Federation, which had used the same initials for years. These days, a phone call from the Federation must raise an eyebrow or two. “Hello? This is Bill Jones, WTF?”

I have often wondered if the First Unitarian Church of Kennebunk, ME ever considered getting monogrammed hand towels and then thought better of it.

As to the rather long acronym at the top of this post, it is from a simpler time. Before smartphones made it a snap to look it up, generations of Yale upperclassmen drank for free at Mory’s while freshmen pondered aloud the meaning of the sign hanging over the bar. (If I tell you what it means, will you buy me a drink?)