The New Oxford Dictionary Raising the Barr Weekly Memo: Issue 143

This week’s reflection point: Do the acronyms: BRB, LOL, IMHO, CYL, or IDK, seem familiar to you? When it comes to web acronyms, or Internet jargon, how hip are you? I’ve noticed the popularity of such acronyms growing significantly over the years where one may probably need a special dictionary to interpret incoming messages.

I suspect the trend started years ago with the invention of cell phones and the need to type short messages on a clunky numeric keyboard. It has now spread like wildfire into the social media platforms, business and personal correspondence and even in corporate lingo. I’ve noticed business people, executives, professional speakers and even journalists use these acronyms in their communication while failing to provide the decoding ring so we may clearly understand them.

This week’s tip: Clear and simple communication would always trump trendy idioms or cute acronyms.