What Does *THAT* Mean?

Here is a list of abbreviations that you may find in homeschool discussions online, mostly in alphabetical order. The punctuation and capitalization of some of the abbreviations varies.

The list contains Homeschooling Abbreviations, A Few Emoticons, and Older Online Acronyms.

Please don't feel like you HAVE to use these abbreviations! Some folks do use them, but others prefer to spell out the terms. It's a matter of individual preference, so please don't feel like you have to use them to be "a real homeschooler" or "a real Swappie". They are here for your reference and amusement.

I am indebted to Karl Bunday for the foundation of this list, and to the many Swappies who added to it in the autumn of 1997 and 2007.

Sarah

100EL ---- "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons", reading instruction book
ACE ---- "Accelerated Christian Education"
ACT ---- "American College Test", standardized test for entrance to some colleges and universities
ADD ---- "attention-deficit disorder"
ADHD ---- "attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder" (this term, ADHD, is now preferred)
AFT ---- "American Federation of Teachers," a large association of schoolteachers (NOT the same as the larger NEA), functioning as a labor union in states that permit collective bargaining
AO ---- "Alpha Omega", a Christian curriculum publisher
AOL ---- "America On Line," an online service
AP ---- "Alpha-Phonics", a learn-to-read curriculum, or "Advanced Placement", optional exams given to advanced high school students for college credit
ASL ---- "American Sign Language"
B4FIAR ---- "Before Five In a Row", preschool literature-based curriculum
bashing ---- "assaulting (or attacking) the sender, not the opinion expressed in the note"
BBS ---- "bulletin board system", precursors to online forums
BFIAR ---- "Beyond Five-in-a-Row", upper elementary literature-based curriclum, ages 8-12
BIL ---- "Brother-in-law"
BJ, BJU, BJUP ---- "Bob Jones University Press", a Christian curriculum publisher
BF ---- "Beautiful Feet", a Christian curriculum publisher
BTS ---- "Building Thinking Skills", a critical thinking curriculum
CAT ---- "California Achievement Test", a standardized test available to homeschoolers
CBD ---- "Christian Book Distributors", mail-order book retailer in Pennsylvania
CGC ---- "Considering God's Creation", a Christian science curriculum
CIS ---- "Compuserve Information Service," Compuserve online service
CLP ---- "Christian Liberty Press", a Christian curriculum publisher
CM ---- "Charlotte Mason", 19th-century British educator; her theories
CS ---- "Christian school"
dd ---- "dear or darling daughter"
DG -- "Daily Grams", a grammar curriculum
detox ---- "detoxification", the process of purging the poor attitudes and habits of public/private school; the adjustment process for a student coming out of a classroom into a home education setting
dh ---- "dear or darling husband" (also "d___ husband"), "dearest heart"
ds ---- "dear or darling son"
EG, EG+ ---- "Easy Grammar" and "Easy Grammar Plus", grammar curricula energizing ---- "adding a reply so a posted note won't be removed from the board so soon", in Swap terms, "bringing to the top"
ETC ---- "Explode the Code", series of phonics workbooks
FAR ---- "Far Above Rubies", Christian high school unit study curriculum for girls
FAQ ---- "Frequently Asked Questions"
flame ---- "post a disparaging message or series of messages"
FIAR ---- "Five In A Row", lower elementary grades literature-based curriculum, ages 4-8
FIIR ---- "For Instruction In Righteousness", a Doorpost product
FIL ---- "father-in-law"
GCB ---- "Great Christian Books", mail-order/retail bookstore in Maryland
GWS ---- "Growing Without Schooling," the oldest home schooling magazine
HBJ ---- "Harcourt, Brace & Javonovich", secular curriculum publisher
HEM ---- "Home Education Magazine"
HM ---- "Houghton Mifflin", a secular curriculum publisher
HMSC ---- "home school" or "home schooling"
HMSCer ---- "home schooler"
HOP ---- "Hooked on Phonics," a commercial reading instruction curriculum
HS, HSing, HSer ---- "homeschool, homeschooling, homeschooler"
HSLDA ---- "Home School Legal Defense Association"
HWT ---- "Handwriting Without Tears", a handwriting curriculum
IEP ---- "Individualized Education Plan," mandated for students in some categories by federal law, intended for all students under some planned implementations of outcome-based education
IRA ---- "International Reading Association," an organization of persons involved in reading instruction in schools
ITBS ---- "Iowa Test of Basic Skills," a standardized achievement test given to schoolchildren, much like the Stanford Achievement Test
KAH ---- "Training our Daughters to be Keepers At Home", same as TOD
KB ---- "Kevin Bacon", a relational game/phenomenon that involves finding connections between two people or events in as few steps as possible
KOTF ---- "Keepers of the Faith"
LA ---- "Learning Adventures"
LD ---- "learning disabled"
LDS ---- "Latter Day Saints (Mormon)" in religious contexts
LGTW ---- "Learning Grammar Through Writing", the grammar supplement to LLATL
LLATL, LLAL ---- "Learning Language Arts Through Literature", language arts curriculum using exerpts from literature as the foundation for all aspects of language
LMS ---- "Listen My Son", a Christian unit study curriculum for high school boys
LOL ---- "Lifestyle of Learning", a free monthly newsletter discussing the topics in WWOL
LOL ---- "laugh out loud", or "lots of love"
lurker ---- "someone who reads notes and replies but doesn't post" (This is perfectly acceptable behavior, despite the connotation of the word "lurker", but we welcome you to participate if you want to!)
lurking through ---- "just looking for information" or "just passing by on the bulletin board or forum"
MAT ---- "Metropolitan Achievement Test"
MCP ---- "Modern Curriculum Press", a secular curriculum publisher
MIL ---- "mother-in-law"
MkMM ---- "Making Math Meaningful," a commercial mathematics curriculum, not to be confused with the one below with the almost identical name
MMdM ---- "Math Made Meaningful," a commercial mathematics curriculum, not be confused with the one above with the almost identical name
MUS ---- "Math-U-See", a commercial mathematics curriculum
NAEP ---- "National Assessment of Education Progress," a testing program in reading, writing, math, and science conducted by ETS for the federal government
NCTE ---- "National Council of Teachers of English," a professional association that has established guidelines for English curricula
NCTM ---- "National Council of Teachers of Mathematics," a professional association that has established guidelines for math curricula
NEA ---- "National Education Association," founded in the 19th Century, now the largest association of schoolteachers, functioning as a labor union in states that permit collective bargaining
newbie "newcomer, either to homeschooling or to a particular discussion board or forum, or both"
NL ---- "Newsletter"
NT, nt ---- "No Text", the subject line contains the entire message
OBE ---- "outcome-based education," a program of purported school reform (variously described as principally a management reform or principally a curriculum reform) already mandated in several states, in experimental implementation in various places
PACE ---- unit-based curriculum from Ace Ministries
PASS test ---- a normed, non-timed test from Hewitt
PM ---- a message sent via the Swap's "Private Message" system, accessible by registered users from the forums' User Menu
PP ---- "Prairie Primer", unit-study curriculum based on the Little House series of books
PS ---- "public school"
PW ---- "password"
Q&A ---- "question and answer"
R&S ---- "Rod & Staff", a Christian curriculum publisher
SAHD ---- "stay-at-home dad"
SAHM ---- "stay-at-home mom"
SAT ---- (1) a test used for college entrance published by Educational Testing Service, or (2) "Stanford Achievement Test," an achievement test used in primary and secondary grades to evaluate student progress
Saxon ---- "Saxon Publishers", a secular math, science, and phonics curriculum publisher
SIL ---- "sister-in-law"
SIN/P ---- "single parent"
SL ---- "Sonlight", an integrated curriculum
SOTW ---- "Story of the World", a history curriculum
SSRW ---- "Sing Spell Read & Write", phonics and reading program
SV ---- "Steck-Vaughn", a secular curriculum publisher
Swappie ---- "a regular poster or lurker at the Homeschoolers Curriculum Swap forums"
ToG ---- "Tapestry of Grace", an integrated, classical curriculum
TH ---- "Teaching Home," a home schooling magazine
thread ---- "series of replies attached to a note, a topic on a forum"
The Swap ---- "The Homeschoolers Curriculum Swap support forums and/or curriculum classified ads"
TOD ---- "Training Our Daughters to Be Keepers at Home", a Christian curriculum with a home economics emphasis
TPTB ---- "the powers that be"
TT ---- Teaching Textbooks, a CD/DVD-based math curriculum
TTFN ---- "ta-ta for now"
TTYL ---- "talk to you later"
TUAC ---- "Train Up A Child", both a book and a listserv, although one has nothing to do with the other
US ---- "Unit Studies"
w/ ---- "with"
w/o ---- "without"
WS ---- "Writing Strands", a writing curriculum
WVWW -- World Views of the Western World"(Quine's), Christian world history/ worldview curriculum, part of Cornerstone Curriculum
WWOL ---- "Wisdom's Way of Learning", a book by Marilyn Howshall
[13]yob, [13]yos ---- "13-year-old boy/son"
[11]yog, [11]yod ---- "11-year-old girl/daughter"
YRS ---- "year-round schooling"

:-) Smile
:-( A little sad or grumpy
;-) Wink, Wink, know what I mean????
:-X my lips are sealed
:-D Laughing or a big grin
:-* *SMACK* a Kiss
:-P Sticking a tongue out
:-| Ho Hum - a bored smiley
:-] Another happy face!
:-} Burp - Excuse me
:-> Feeling a bit sarcastic??
:-') Tongue In Cheek
>;-) or >:-) Feeling a little diabolical?

AAMOF: As a matter of fact
ADN: Any Day Now
AFAIK: As Far As I Know
AIMB: As I Mentioned Before
AISI: As I See It
ATSL: Along the same line
ATST: At The Same Time
AWGTHTGTATA?: Are We Going To Have To Go Through All This Again?
BAC: By Any Chance
BCNU: Be seeing you
BEG: Big Evil Grin
BG: BIG grin
BIP: Books In Print
BK: Because
BOBW: Best of Both Worlds
BOL: Beginning of Lecture
BRB: Be Right Back
BTW: By The Way
BWG: Big Wide Grin, Big Wicked Grin
CMIIW: Correct Me If I'm Wrong
CU: See You
CUL8R: See You Later
CUL8RALEG8R: See You Later, Al E Gator
CUL: See You Later
CYL: C you later
DG: Devious Grin
DLG: Devilish Little Grin
DTITS: Don't take it too seriously
DUWL: Doubled up with laughter
EG: Evil Grin
E2EG: Ear to Ear Grin
EMSL: Evil Mad Scientist Laugh
EOD: End Of Discussion
EOL: End Of Lecture
FITB: Fill In The Blank
FOMC: Falling Off My Chair (laughing)
FTL: Faster Than Light
FUWOTD: Fed up with off-topic discussions
FWIW: For what it's worth
FYI: For Your Information
G: Grin
G,D&R grinning, ducking, and running (after making remark sure to cause controversy
GETE: Grinning Ear To Ear
GIGO: Garbage In, Garbage Out
GIWIST: Gee I Wish I'd Said That
GMTA: Great Minds Think Alike
GR8: Great
IAE; In Any Event
IAW: In Accordance With
IBARFT: It's been a real fun time
IBC: Inadequate, But Cute
IBM: Inadequate, but Marketable
IC: I See
IIRC: If I Remember Correctly
ILYKL: I'll let you know later
IMCO: In My Considered Opinion
IMHO: In my humble/honest/half-baked opinion
IMOBO: In My Own Biased Opinion
IMNSHO: In My Not So Humble Opinion
IMO: In My Opinion
INNEWATOK: Inquiring NErd WAnts TO Know
IOW: In Other Words
IRMC: I Rest My Case
JIC: Just In Case
JMHO: Just My Humble Opinion
KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid
L8R: Later
LOL: Laughing Out Loud
LSL: Loud Screaming Laughter
LTMSH: Laughing 'Til My Sides Hurt
LTNC: Long Time, No See
MYOB: Mind Your Own Business
NBD: No Big Deal
NIMBY: Not in My Back Yard
NRN: No Reply Necessary
NTL: Nevertheless (Nonetheless)
NTYMI: Now that you mention it
OAS: On another subject
OATUS: On A Totally Unrelated Subject
OAUS: On An Unrelated Subject
OIC: Oh, I See
OTOH: On The Other Hand
OTTOMH: Off the Top of My Head
PMJI: Pardon My Jumping In
PMS: Pooped Mommy Syndrome
PNS Pretty Neat Stuff
POV: Point Of View
ROFL: Rolling on the Floor, Laughing
ROFLOL:Rolling on Floor, Laughing Out Loud
ROTF: Rolling On The Floor
ROTFL: Rolling On The Floor Laughing
ROTM: Right On The Money
RSN: Real Soon Now
SITD: Still in the dark
SITYS: See, I Told You So
SNAFU: Situation Normal, All Fouled Up
SOP: Standing Operational Procedures
SOW: Speaking of which
SP?: "Is this spelled right?" Used when writer is unsure of correct spelling of word; often written (sp)
SWWPNN: Something We Will Probably Never Know
SYT: Sweet Young Thing
TANJ: There Ain't No Justice
TANSTAAFL: There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch
TBPH: To be perfectly honest
TCB: Taking care of business
TFTHAOT: Thanks For The Help Ahead Of Time
TIA: Thanks In Advance
TIC: Tongue in Cheek
TOBAL: There Oughta Be A Law
TOBG: This Oughta Be Good
TPTB: The Powers That Be
TRDMC: Tears Running Down My Cheeks
TTBOMK: To The Best Of My Knowledge
TTFN: Ta Ta For Now
TTMS: Talk (TYPE) To Me Soon
TTTT: To tell the truth
TTUL: Talk To You Later
TTYL: Talk (or Type) To You Later
TTYRS: Talk To You Real Soon?
TWTOTB: The Way Things Ought To Be
TYS: Told Ya So
TYVM: Thank you very much
VBG: Very Big Grin
WIBAMU: Well I'll be a Monkey's Uncle
WMTA: Warped Minds Think Alike
WYSIWIG: What You See Is Fake Hair
WYSIWYG: What You See Is What You Get
YAR: Yet Another Rumor
YASQ: Yet Another Stupid Question
YMMV: Your mileage may vary
YGLT: You're gonna love this

Email Kelly with additions to abbreviations list
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