Glossary of Internet Acronyms and Emoticons

As more and more students take to Chat Rooms and adopt Instant Messaging for socializing, a new shorthand language has evolved among them: Internet acronyms and emoticons. The acronyms abbreviate common phrases and slang we're all familiar with, and the emoticons (also known as "smileys") combine letters, symbols, and numbers to create faces that express emotions visually.

Note: this is only a basic listing. There are many more acronyms and emoticons than what is shown here, and more are being created every day.

Acronyms

AAMOF = As A Matter Of Fact AFAIK = As Far As I Know AFK = Away From Keyboard ASAP = As Soon As Possible B4N = Bye For Now BAK = Back At Keyboard BBL = Be Back Later BBFN = Bye-Bye For Now BFN = Bye For Now BOT = Back On Topic BRB = Be Right Back BTW = By The Way CMIIW = Correct Me If I'm Wrong CU = See You CUL(8R) = See You Later CWOT = Complete Waste Of Time CYA = See Ya DGT = Don't Go There DIY = Do It Yourself DQYDJ = Don't Quit Your Day Job EOD = End Of Discussion EOL = End Of Lecture EZ = Easy F2F = Face To Face FAQ = Frequently Asked Questions FBOW = For Better Or Worse FITB = Fill In The Blank FOAF = Friend Of A Friend FOCL = Falling Off Chair Laughing FWIW = For What It's Worth FYA = For Your Amusement FYI = For Your Information /ga = Go Ahead GAL = Get A Life GBTW = Get Back To Work GFETE = Grinning From Ear To Ear GMTA = Great Minds Think Alike GTG = Got To Go GTRM = Going To Read Mail HAND = Have A Nice Day HHOK = Ha Ha, Only Kidding HTH = Hope This Helps IAC = In Any Case IAE = In Any Event IC = I See IDGI = I Don't Get It IMHO = In My Humble Opinion IMO = In My Opinion IOW = In Other Words IRL = In Real Life IYKWIM = If You Know What I Mean JIC = Just In Case

J/K = Just Kidding KISS = Keep It Simple, Stupid L8TR = Later LD = Later, Dude LOL = Laughing Out Loud LTNS = Long Time No See MorF = Male or Female? MTCW = My Two Cents' Worth NRN = No Reply Necessary OTOH = On The Other Hand OTTOMH = Off The Top Of My Head OIC = Oh, I See OTF = On The Floor OTFL = On The Floor Laughing OT = Off Topic PLS = Please PU = That Stinks REHI = Hello Again (re-Hi!) ROFL = Rolling On Floor Laughing ROTF = Rolling On The Floor RSN = Real Soon Now RUOK = Are You OK? SIYD = Still In The Dark SNAFU = Situation Normal All Fouled Up SO = Significant Other SOL = Smiling Out Loud TAFN = That's All For Now THX = Thanks TIA = Thanks In Advance TIC = Tongue In Cheek TLK2UL8R = Talk To You Later TMI = Too Much Information TMK = To My Knowledge TPTB = The Powers That Be TSWC = Tell Someone Who Cares TTFN = Ta-Ta For Now TTYL(8R) = Talk To You Later TWIMC = To Whom It May Concern TYVM = Thank You Very Much Txs = Thanks w/b = Welcome Back w/o = Without WRT = With Regard To WTG = Way To Go WU? = What's Up? ZZZ = Sleeping <G> = Grinning <J> = Joking <L> = Laughing <S> = Smiling <Y> = Yawning