An acronym is a new word created from the first letters of a phrase, and read like a complete word.
| aga
Aktiebolaget Gasaccumulator
| mooc
massive open online class
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| AIDS
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (later stage of HIV)
| nimby
not in my back yard
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| asap
as soon as possible
| PIN
personal identification number
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| AWOL
absent without leave (= they have left, but they shouldn’t have)
| radar
radio detection and ranging
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| BASE jummping
building, antenna, span, Earth
| SARS
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
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| captcha
completely automated public Turing test to tell computers and humans apart
| scuba
self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
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| care package
Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (previously Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe; care packages were started during WWII)
| SIM card
subscriber identification module
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| E-fit
electronic facial identification technique
| snafu
situation normal, all f**ked up
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| Gestapo
Geheime Staatspolizei (German; translated: secret state police)
| sonar
sound navigation and ranging
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| GIF
graphics interchange format
| Soweto
south west townships
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| gulag
Glavnoye Upravleniye Ispravitelno-trudovykh Lagerey (Russian; translation: Chief Administration of Corrective Labour Camps)
| swag
stuff we all get
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| humvee
high-mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicle (HMMWV has been changed to humvee)
| taser
Thomas Swift’s electric rifle
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| laser
light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation
| zip code
zone improvement plan
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