• Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
  • We seem to be having technical difficulties with new user accounts. If you are trying to register please check your Spam or Junk folder for your confirmation email. If you still haven't received a confirmation email, please reach out to our support inbox: support.forum@diabetes.org.uk

Interesting acronyms - finding a C.U.R.E.

J

JimG

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
This is definitely not a medical cure but I wanted to grab your attention for some light hearted posts.

Life is full of acronyms and abbreviations. There is a good thread in the Newbies' Forum giving lots of helpful explanations but I am wondering what acronyms or abbreviations you have come across that you find amusing, or otherwise. I am sure that the advertising agencies hope to find the acronym that is exciting and takes on a life of its own but then the initials may eve lose their original meaning. For example, how many people care that HSBC originally meant Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited? How many people know the meaning of the letters in some of the large accountancy firms, PwC, KPMG, EY, BDO, RSM etc.? Then there are the abbreviations that are unfortunate. Many years ago I worked for Post Office Telecommunications (Pre BT days). We had various targets to meet. They were known as TIP, e.g. TIP 1, TIP 2, TIP 24. In my youthful innocence when told the TIP stood for Telecommunications Improvement Programme, I said that I thought they should be called targets, not programmes. I was asked would I like to set out the initials. Yet, those very same initials were used for comedic effect in Only Fools and Horses to produce Trotters' Independent Traders. Some abbreviations may produce even more unfortunate results. I once worked for an organisation that had a restructuring of Business Units with a Business Unit Manager reporting to a Managing Partner who reported to a Regional Partner, but it did not last long with BUMs reporting to BUMPs who reported to BURPs. Then there is the myth of Northumbria University which, when Newcastle-upon Tyne Polytechnic obtained university status, decided not to be called City University because of the unfortunate word created with those four initials.

So, the challenge is to find acronyms that are Comedic, Unfortunate, with Redundant letters or Exciting results (I added that last one in just to make the word).
 
It did grab my attention but not in the way you hoped @JimG people living with diabetes are desperate for a cure.

Perhaps this would be better in Entertainment to alert people that it’s not what they think…
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Two spring to mind.
One maybe made up but, your story of the Northumbria University reminded my of the story that Loughborough University was once going to be Loughborough University of Science and Technology.
The other was one I came across when I was working for an engineering (mostly male) company. Once a month, we we all inflicted with a painfully frustrating meeting where our management team would visit from head office. Yes, we had difficult PMTs.
 
I remember the avalanche of acronyms that became part of break-room chats when. Line Of Duty was having its moment a few years ago. All those AFOs in AC-12 working to protect the CHIS from the OCGs
 
In a school they had the upper and lower stream but didn’t want to label the six groups on the timetables focusing on the ability of the students, so they came up with HONEST using:
HON for the upper stream (honours)
EST for the lower stream (or ESN)!!!!
Once pointed out they quickly changed it.
 
Inka said:
It did grab my attention but not in the way you hoped @JimG Type 1s are desperate for a cure.

Perhaps this would be better in Entertainment to alert people that it’s not what they think…
Click to expand...
I put full stops between the letters and put it in general message board hoping that it would be clear that it was not medical related. But, as I used to say to trainees when a client misunderstood a letter, it was the fault of the writer and not the fault of the reader. It is the reader of a letter, post, pamphlet etc. who decides what is appropriate not the the writer. So, I disagree with one thing in your post. You say that I may have thought that it grabbed your attention in the wrong way but you gave me an insight into how you think some people might react and that is never wrong and if you had made the suggestion I would have moved the thread myself. I would also add that I would also welcome a cure.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I've moved the thread to entertainment as per discussion :star:

Personally, I think most of the acronyms I've seen that are very 'unfortunate' aren't really PG-13 friendly, but one that lives rent-free in my head is the one I learnt ages ago in training, which has become something I use in my personal life too. It's called C.A.L.M.E.R. and I use it on myself when I feel overwhelmed or when I'm listening to a friend just 'going through it'.
Consider - it's about considering my own and the person's needs, am I in the right headspace, do they feel comfortable, should we go somewhere private, get a cup of tea etc.
Acknowledge - their issue might seem 'small' to me or like something that could be 'easily solved', but I'm not there to instantly solve their problems, I'm there to be their friend.
Listen - it's all about keeping an open mind, maybe repeating back what they've said to make sure I understood it correctly or to grasp what it means to them personally, which to me is very important as my friend group is very multi-cultural and sometimes it's easy to jump to conclusions.
Manage - so this is all about managing expectations and myself. Does my friend just want a rant? Are they seeking help? Am I in a position to provide that help? Do we need to take a break and come back to this discussion?
Enable - if they are looking for help, can I help them make a plan for themselves, can we do things together or do they just need me to be there, keeping things in perspective and real.
Resource - do they need anything to achieve it? What links do I have, who else could we need to bring to the table?

And while this all might sound very 'mechanical', when our brains get chaotic and certain tasks seem 'unachievable', I think having something like this plan in your head might work. I.e. I know I need to do some spring cleaning, especially in my attic, but there's no way I can lift everything on my own. So this might be a big job, with plenty of trips to the recycling centre, lots of heavy lifting etc. Now if I entice my friends with some free food as a thank you, maybe we can turn this into a team effort and something that doesn't have to take me four weekends in a row :rofl:
 
Our eldest's futsal team are sponsored by CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), a suicide prevention charity. It's on the front of their matchday shirts.
 
There was an urban myth that Southampton Institute (now Solent University)'s full name was Southampton Higher Institute of Technology.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top