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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread redundancy and acronyms #1621 04/27/2000 12:54 AM Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 9 Richmond, VA, USA Philophile stranger Philophile stranger Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 9 Richmond, VA, USA Sometimes an acronym is used for so long that people consider it a solid word, and forget that each letter stands for something else. Common examples are laser (Light Amplification through Stimulated Emission of Radiation), radar (RAdio Detecting And Ranging), and sonar (SOund NAvigation and Ranging). But what of unpronouncable acronyms, those that must be spoken as their individual letters? All too often, one of these acronyms will be used, and followed by the last word in the acronym spoken outright. Examples of these redundancies include: "ATM machine" (Automated Teller Machine machine) "RAM memory chip" (Random Access Memory memory chip) Can anyone think of any others? [P.] [P.] Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: redundancy and acronyms #1622 04/27/2000 11:53 AM Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 3 Wilba stranger Wilba stranger Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 3 Oh, I hate that! The one that irritates me the most, since I hear it so often, is "pin number". This could be said "pi number", but that means something completely different (-: I can't think of any others at the moment except "HTML language" and "ASP page". Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: redundancy and acronyms #1623 04/27/2000 6:30 PM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 6,511 lower upstate New York AnnaStrophic Carpal Tunnel AnnaStrophic Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 6,511 lower upstate New York Another one is scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus). Pin number irks me, too. There's also the college entrance exam, the Scholastic Aptitude Test test.... and (showing my age) the post-Cold War negotiations, the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks talks. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: redundancy and acronyms #1624 05/01/2000 4:03 PM Joined: May 2000 Posts: 3 cgblack stranger cgblack stranger Joined: May 2000 Posts: 3 How about a Compact Disk disk or a Digital Video Disk disk? Then there is the Personal Computer computer. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: redundancy and acronyms #1625 05/05/2000 9:26 PM Joined: May 2000 Posts: 19 Washington, DC, USA GZini stranger GZini stranger Joined: May 2000 Posts: 19 Washington, DC, USA On applications for credit cards, etc., I often see the following asking for my Social Security Number: SSN #________________ Does that one count? Nothing will ever be as irritating as "PIN number," which several have already pointed out. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary

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