WORDS COACH

English abbreviations you need to know

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Words Coach

1

LMK

Let me know Casual, friendly – perfect for the end of a text. LMK shows that your are expecting confirmation or more information.

2

DOB

Date of birth “What IS my DOB?” you might have wondered the first time you saw this. After all, it does sound like a poorly chosen item of clothing or foul type of medicine. Well, rest assured you do have a DOB – we all do. You probably celebrate yours each year with far too much cake, ice cream and requisite silly hats.

3

AM/PM

Before midday (morning) and after midday (afternoon) There’s a huge difference between 5 in the morning and 5 in the afternoon – and these little terms have it covered. Remember, don’t use them if you use 24-hour time (6 PM is the same as 18:00) and be careful to set your alarm correctly. A “morning” alarm that goes off at 7 PM doesn’t help anyone!

4

BRB

Be right back Sometimes when chatting, something demands our attention: be it the doorbell, a cat wanting to be let out or an irresistible caffeine craving. Don’t sweat it – just let your friend know you’ll BRB.

5

CC/BCC

Carbon copy/blind carbon copy Although they refer to the age of email, these terms take their names from the analogue years, when copies were made using carbon paper. Quick etiquette tip: when adding people to the CC email field, remember they “can clearly” see who else has received the email . 

6

RSVP

Please reply As with so much of English, this comes from French. RSVP stands for “Répondez s’il vous plait”. You’ll see this request on invitations to weddings and other parties. And yes, please do reply – that way, the bride or host knows exactly how many salmon fillets to order.

7

ASAP

As soon as possible “Can you get this in ASAP?” reads the email from your boss. Depending on the project, this may or may not cause panic – but in any case, you don’t have much time to think!

8

ETA

Estimated time of arrival “See you on Tuesday, ETA 9 PM.” You might see this when someone is traveling but is unsure of when their flight gets in.

9

TGIF

Thank God it’s Friday Sung by workers worldwide each Friday afternoon – the weekend is here!

10

IMO

in my opinion (or IMHO – in my humble opinion) We’ve all got a few opinions. This is how you can express them.

11

TBA/TBC

To be announced/To be confirmed Remember your friend whose wedding invitation you need to RSVP ASAP to? Be careful if it says venue TBA or groom TBC. It means she doesn’t have everything organized just yet!

12

FOMO

Fear of missing out And with the weekend can come a some pretty serious FOMO. Imagine: You’ve been invited out but don’t feel like going. But, at the same time, you know it’ll be fun fun and that you may regret not going. So you agonize over what to do.

13

aka

Also known as This little beauty is used to refer to someone or something by another name – often a nickname, such as how your bro (might) refer to his newborn baby (“This is Eddie, aka ‘The poop machine'”), or how Chile refers to a much-loved footballer, Alexis Sanchez, aka ‘El Niño Maravilla’.

14

n/a

not available, not applicable Use this when filling out a form to show that particular section doesn’t apply to you.

15

DIY

Do it yourself People who are interested in completing tasks themselves rather than hiring professionals (aka DIY-ers) exist in all walks of life. From fixing electronics and upholstering furniture to completely renovating their homes, as you can imagine, DIY projects can result in as many great successes as horrible messes!

Thank You