Random Abbreviation Week (RAW!) #1
Sunday
CVS = Consumer Value Stores
Monday
TED (as in TED conferences and talks) = Technology, Entertainment, and Design
Tuesday
YMCA = Young Men’s Christian Association
Wednesday
OK = “oll korrect,” a humorous misspelling of “all correct.” OK first showed up in 1839 in the Boston Morning Post in a satirical article about a group called the “Anti Bell-Ringing Society.” At the time, there was a strange literary fashion of abbreviating misspellings of common sayings, such as “K.G.” as “know go” for “no go” or “O.W.” as “oll wright” for “all right.” However, the year after the article was published, OK got a boost by the presidential election of Martin Van Buren. By chance, his nickname was “Old Kinderhook,” and his supporters kept the letters around by forming OK Clubs. Soon after the letters also proved a short, handy way to confirm reception of telegraph messages, and OK/okay is now one of English’s most common expressions, usable as a noun, verb, or adjective.
Thursday
DNA = deoxyribonucleic acid (pronounced “dee-OX-ee-RY-bo-noo-CLAY-ick acid”)
Friday
TNT = trinitrotoluene (pronounced “try-nitro-TAAL-yoo-ween”)
Saturday
SAT = Scholastic Assessment Test