AA
- Alcoholic's Anonymous - a group that helps people recover from
alcohol abuse My boss has been going to AA meetings for over a year.
AD
- Anno Domini - used to mark time that comes after the commonly
accepted beginning of the Christian era The ancient city was founded
in 125 AD.
AGM
- Annual General Meeting - the annual meeting of an
organization My sister attended the AGM of the condominium owners last
night.
AI
- Artificial Intelligence - used for robots
etc Several professors at our university have been researching AI for
many years now.
AIDS
- Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome - a disease of the immune
system Recently the number of AIDS patients has been increasing
rapidly in many countries.
AM
- Amplitude Modulation - a type of radio frequency We
don't listen to AM radio much because we don't like the songs that they play.
AOB
- Any Other Business - used in meetings etc The
organizer of the meeting wrote AOB at the bottom of the meeting information
sheet.
AOK
- great, doing well He said that he was feeling AOK
even after the truck had hit him.
APB
- All Point's Bulletin - used by the police when looking for a
criminal The police put out an APB on the men who had robbed the bank.
ASAP
- As Soon As Possible Please finish the first draft of
the letter and give it to me ASAP.
AWOL
- Absent Without Leave - often used in the
military The military police were searching the area for the soldier
who had gone AWOL.
BA
- Bachelor of Arts - from a university My brother has
received a BA in economics from his university.
B&B
- Bed and Breakfast - a small inn or hotel that serves
breakfast My sister wants to open a small B&B when she quits her
job.
B&E
- Break and Enter - a criminal act of breaking into a house or
building to steal something When I was going to university there was a
B&E in my apartment.
BLT
- Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato - a type of sandwich We went
into the restaurant and ordered a BLT sandwich.
BO
- Body Odor - smell of sweat from the human body The
BO from the man in the elevator was very bad.
BS
- Bullshit - lies or other information that is
false We heard a lot of BS at the meeting last night which nobody
believed.
BSc
- Bachelor of Science - from a university My cousin
has just received a BSc in computer science from his university.
BYOB
- Bring Your Own Bottle - used for a party or dinner where each
person must bring something to drink I decided to have a dinner party
at my house next week and told everyone that it was BYOB.
CA
- Chartered Accountant We went to see a CA in order to
get our income tax finished on time.
CEO
- Chief Executive Officer My uncle was the CEO of a
large computer company.
CIA
- Central Intelligence Agency - US spy and security
organization The CIA was involved in the efforts to free the hostage
air force pilot.
C/O
- Care Of - used when you want to send something to someone at
the address of another person I didn't know my friend's address so I
sent a letter to him C/O another friend of mine.
COD
- Cash On Delivery - used when a delivery person receives cash
when they deliver something I decided to send away for some video
cassettes and the company said that they would send them to me COD.
CPA
- Certified Public Accountant The woman in our
accounting department has been studying for her CPA exams for three months.
DIY
- Do-It-Yourself I went to a DIY store and bought the
materials to build a bed.
DJ
- Disc Jockey My cousin worked in the summer as a disc
jockey while he was going to university.
DNA
- Deoxyribonucleic Acid - main constituent of the chromosomes of
all organisms The large university project has spent a lot of money in
the study of DNA.
DUI
- Driving Under the Influence The man was sent to jail
for several months on a charge of DUI.
ECG
- Electrocardiogram - an electronic test of a person's
heart My father was asked to take an ECG test by his doctor.
eg
- Exempli Gratia - Latin for example The company has
hundreds of small factories around the world - eg Italy, Mexico, Thailand and
Korea.
ER
- Emergency Room - the place in a hospital which deals with
emergency situations The victims of the accident were quickly taken to
the ER.
ESL
- English as a Second Language The ESL classes at the
college have been held for almost ten years now.
ESP
- Extrasensory Perception The movie was about a small
boy who had the ability of ESP.
ETA
- Estimated Time of Arrival What will your ETA be when
you return home next month?
FBI
- Federal Bureau of Investigation The killers were
found in a nationwide search by the FBI.
FM
- Frequency Modulation - a type of radio signal The
radio station that we listen to regularly is an FM station.
FYI
- For Your Information I wrote FYI on the information
bulletin and sent it to the other members of the staff.
GI
- Government Issue - stamped on US military equipment and often
means US soldier The man went to the store and bought a GI Joe doll
for his son.
GMT
- Greenwich Mean Time - a place in England used as the standard
for time around the world The rocket will be launched at 10:00 AM
tomorrow GMT.
GNP
- Gross National Product - the total value of goods and services
produced by a country in one year The GNP of the country that I
visited last year has been decreasing for several years.
GP
- General Practitioner - a general doctor I went to
see a GP when I broke my leg last summer.
HIV
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus The rate of HIV
infection among drug users is very high.
HQ
- Headquarters The HQ of the company is located in a
small town in Korea.
IMF
- International Monetary Fund - an international agency that
works to stabilize currencies etc The IMF imposed very strict currency
guidelines that many people were opposed to.
IOU
- I Owe You - a signed paper saying that you owe money to
someone I gave my friend an IOU when I bought his stereo.
IQ
- Intelligence Quotient - a measure of a person's
intelligence The IQ of the new student is very high.
JP
- Justice of the Peace They went to a JP when they
decided to get married.
KO
- Knockout The boxer won the match in the fifth round
by a KO.
LLB
- Bachelor of Laws My brother received his LLB and
will begin to practice law next week.
LP
- Long-Playing Record I recently decided to give all
of my old LPs to a charity.
LPG
- Liquid Petroleum Gas The truck carrying LPG was in
an accident on the highway last night.
MA
- Master of Arts My cousin's wife has recently decided
to study for her MA in economics.
MIA
- Missing In Action According to some people in the
United States there are still some MIA soldiers in Vietnam.
MC
- Master of Ceremonies My cousin was the MC for my
sister's wedding.
MD
- Doctor of Medicine She received her MD when she was
26 years old and has been practicing medicine since then.
MP
- Member of Parliament - used in the United Kingdom and Canada
etc There were several MPs at the restaurant where we had dinner.
MSc
- Master of Science The woman has an MSc in computer
science and has been able to find a job easily.
NASA
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration - the US space
organization According to a spokesperson for NASA the rocket will be
launched next week.
NATO
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization The members of
NATO are gathering for an important meeting next month in Brussels.
NB
- Nota Bene - Latin for take notice or note well Our
teacher told us to memorize the information in our text that is marked NB.
OAP
- Old Age Pensioner At first I could not understand
why I couldn't get the discount that was for OAPs only. Later I realized it was
for senior citizens.
OAU
- Organization of African Unity The OAU is working
very hard to promote free trade between its various countries.
OD
- Overdose - on drugs The man was died because of a
drug OD.
OR
- Operating Room - in a hospital Before entering the
OR the doctors carefully washed their hands.
PA
- Public Address System Every morning the children
listened to the latest school information over the PA.
PC
- Politically Correct - language that is not harmful or
insulting to others The university had a very strict policy that says
that all material published in the school newspaper must be PC.
PC
- Personal Computer The PC industry has been growing
rapidly in recent years.
PE
- Physical Education My PE class was held indoors
during the winter months.
Phd
- Doctor of Philosophy After receiving his Phd in
history my friend was able to get a job at a university.
PLO
- Please Leave On - used when you want to leave something on a
blackboard or whiteboard Although the teacher wrote PLO on the
blackboard the information was erased during the lunch break.
PM
- Post Meridiem - Latin for after noon The meeting
started at exactly 1:00 PM.
POW
- Prisoner of War The negotiations regarding POWs
continued for many years after the Vietnam war.
PR
- Public Relations With good PR the politician was
able to easily gain the support of many people.
PS
- Postscript - written at the end of a letter when you want to
add some extra information After finishing the main part of the letter
I wrote PS to include something very important that I had forgotten.
PTA
- Parent-Teacher Association We got home late last
night after attending our son's PTA meeting.
PTO
- Please Turn Over - written on a piece of paper to tell someone
to look at the other side I wrote PTO on the last page of my essay to
make sure that the professor would look at the last page.
RCMP
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police - Canada's national police
force The movie was about the RCMP and it took place in northern
Canada.
RIP
- Rest In Peace - used when talking about someone who is dead or
sometimes written on a gravestone At the end of the movie RIP was
written on the gravestone of the main character who had been killed.
RSVP
- Respondez S'il Vous Plait - French for please
reply The invitation said RSVP so I quickly sent off a note to say
that I would be able to attend the party.
SOB
- Son Of a Bitch - a swear word used in anger or when you want
to insult someone The man called me a SOB when I drove in front of him
in the parking lot.
SOS
- international code signal of distress, call for
help The sinking ship had been sending out an SOS signal but still
nobody was able to come to their rescue.
TA
- Teaching Assistant After leaving university he was
able to get a job as a TA at the junior college.
TB
- Tuberculosis For various reasons the number of TB
cases has been increasing around the world recently.
TBA
- To Be Announced - used when something will be announced
later I looked in the television guide to see what the 7:00 movie
would be but it only said TBA.
TGIF
- Thank Goodness (God) It's Friday The restaurant had
a large TGIF sign on the door and all drinks were half price.
TKO
- Technical Knockout Although the boxer didn't seem to
win the fight he was awarded a TKO and won the boxing match.
TLC
- Tender Loving Care With lots of TLC the house plants
did very well under my sister's care.
TP
- Toilet Paper I went to the store and bought several
rolls of TP.
UFO
- Unidentified Flying Object The number of UFO
sightings has increased dramatically recently.
UV
- Ultraviolet - a type of light ray We used lots of
sunscreen in order to protect ourselves from UV rays.
VCR
- Video Cassette Recorder We bought a new VCR after
our old one began to have problems.
VDU
- Video Display Unit The VDU at work was beginning to
cause problems with my eyes so I went to an eye doctor.
VHF
- Very High Frequency The television wasn't working
because of a problem with the VHF connection.
VIP
- Very Important Person The football player was given
the VIP treatment when he went to visit his hometown.
VP
- Vice-President After serving faithfully as
vice-president for many years my father was appointed to the position of company
president.
VTR
- Video Tape Recorder The VTR in the classroom was
missing because someone was using it for a meeting.
WC
- Water Closet - toilet As soon as we entered the park
we went directly to the sign that said WC.
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