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11 words you probably didn't know were acronyms

Mark Abadi,Samantha Lee   

11 words you probably didn't know were acronyms
Thelife1 min read

taser 2x1

iStock; Samantha Lee/Business Insider

  • We use acronyms all the time, and in some cases, we don't even realize we're using them.
  • You may not know, for example, that Taser stands for "Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle."
  • Other examples include "radar" and "snafu."


Acronyms show up everywhere in our everyday language, from ASAP to BYOB, JFK to ROY G. BIV.

But sometimes, an acronym is so natural-sounding that we forget it even stands for anything in the first place.

That's certainly the case for Taser - invented in 1974, Taser stands for "Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle," an homage to a fictional character from the early 1900s. The word caught on and eventually gave us the verb "tase," meaning to fire a Taser at someone.

Read on for 11 words most people have no idea actually stand for something.

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