Confused by popular texting acronyms? There is a meaning to those jumbles of letters and numbers, and having the ability to decipher them is becoming more important every day.
Understanding what your teenager is texting—to you, about you or when she thinks you are not watching—can help you be more a part of her life. And texting is not just for teenagers any longer. The shorthand of texting has invaded everywhere from Twitter to email to what used to be formal business communications.
It is especially important to know the meaning of popular texting acronyms if you plan to use them, so you can be spared the embarrassment of inadvertent inappropriate texting—such as sending an acronym with a raunchy or insulting meaning to your boss. Or your grandmother, who is hip enough to know what it means.
Here are some of the most famous messaging sayings.
*$ – Starbucks
^5 – High five
@TEOTD – At the end of the day
2G2BT – Too good to be true
2NITE – Tonight
4COL – For crying out loud
99 – Parents are no longer watching
AFAIK – As far as I know
BFF – Best friends forever
BI5 – Back in five minutes
BIL – Boss is listening
BRB – Be right back
CID – Consider it done
CU – See you
DEGT – Don’t even go there
FML – F*** my life. Usually used to express that things are not going well.
FWIW – For what it’s worth
FYEO – For your eyes only
GBTW – Get back to work
GFTD – Gone for the day
GNOC – Get naked on camera
GR8 – Great
HAND – Have a nice day
HTH – Hope this helps
IANAL – I am not a lawyer (usually followed by an amateur legal opinion).
IAT – I am tired
IDK – I don’t know
IMHO – In my humble opinion
IMO – In my opinion
IMS – I am sorry
IRL – In real life (as opposed to online)
KUTGW – Keep up the good work
L8R – Later
LMIRL – Let’s meet in real life
LOL – Laugh out loud
NMP – Not my problem
NOYB – None of your business
NRN – No response necessary
NSFW – Not suitable for work
NTMU – Nice to meet you
OMG – Oh my God!
ONUD – Oh no, you didn’t!
PAW – Parents are watching
PCM – Please call me
PIBKAC – Problem is between keyboard and chair (uh, that means the person sitting in chair).
PIR – Parent in room
POMS – Parent over my shoulder
POS – Parent over shoulder
PRW – Parents are watching
QT – Cutie
ROFL – Rolling on the floor laughing
RUOK – Are you okay?
SWDYT – So what do you think?
TBA – To be announced
TBC – To be continued
TIA – Thanks in advance
TMI – Too much information
TOY – Thinking of you
TTYL – Talk to you later
TY – Thank you
UG2BK – You’ve got to be kidding
WOMBAT – Waste of money, brains and time
WRUD – What are you doing?
WYSIWYG – What you see is what you get
XOXO – Hugs and kisses
YW – You’re welcome
Still confused? When someone sends you a text filled with what looks like a random collection of letters, try texting back: TMA. That means “too many acronyms.”
