F.Y.I.

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The abbreviation FYI, commonly understood as "For your information," predates the internet, as evidenced by its use in early media like The Twilight Zone. Similarly, the acronym "lol," often associated with online communication, has historical roots, including its use in medical shorthand to refer to "little old lady" in "no apparent distress." Additionally, the practice of using abbreviations has a long history, dating back to 19th-century Morse code telegraphy, which utilized contractions for efficiency. This trend continues today with airport recognition symbols and stock market tickers that feature corporate abbreviations.
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I thought, until just now, that the FYI abbreviation for 'For your information', was an internet creation, but I just heard it on episode 2 of the first series of The Twilight Zone.
 
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paulb203 said:
I thought, until just now, that the FYI abbreviation for 'For your information', was an internet creation, but I just heard it on episode 2 of the first series of The Twilight Zone.
Many TLA's have been around for some time.
 
PeroK said:
Many TLA's have been around for some time.
Yeah. Turns out 'lol' might even be pre-internet.
 
paulb203 said:
Yeah. Turns out 'lol' might even be pre-internet.
Correct. In medical shorthand a lol in nad signifies a "little old lady" in "no apparent distress".

Morse code telegraphy from 19th Century abbreviated and contracted every possible word. Remnants persist such as Morse radio beacons broadcasting airport recognition symbols (DEN for Denver) and stock market chirons displaying corporate abbreviations originally printed on paper ticker tapes (NBC on NYSE).
 
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The piece came-up from the "Lame Jokes" section of the forum. Someobody carried a step from one of the posts and I became curious and tried a brief web search. A web page gives some justification of sorts why we can use goose(s)-geese(p), but not moose(s)-meese(p). Look for the part of the page headed with "Why isn't "meese" the correct plural?" https://languagetool.org/insights/post/plural-of-moose/

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