PRESENTATION OUTLINE
5 WORDS THAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW WERE ACRONYMS!
1. "(AWOL: Absent Without Official Leave
Like the omnipresent ASAP (As Soon As Possible), you may well know this is an acronym as well as what it stands for. But its usage has so far outstripped the original military meaning represented by its letters that it can be hard to remember what we’re really saying when we say someone’s gone “AWOL.”)"
2. "(LASER: Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
Laser has eclipsed its identity as an acronym at this point; it’s now treated as a word rather than an acronym. Its origin as an acronym is still fairly common knowledge, but who among us can remember what it actually represents? So now it’s time to commit it to memory: Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. See? Easy.)"
3. "(SCUBA: Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus
Snorkel, scuba -- the world of underwater swimming proliferates with odd words. But while snorkel is just a word (derived from German), SCUBA actually stands for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus. Which is exactly what it is!)"
4. "(BAE: Before Anyone Else
Bae sounds really similar to the more time-tested endearment “babe,” but reportedly it’s also an acronym. Or is it?!)"
5. "(TASER: Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle
Extra points to the inventor of the taser, Jack Cover, for hiding a clever nod to a pulp novel in his groundbreaking weapon’s name. Rather than a dull acronym for the function of the tool, TASER stands for Thomas A. Swift’s Electric Rifle. This refers to the fictional character Tom Swift, who starred in a series of books focusing on his wild sci-fi inventions -- including an electric rifle, the fictional precursor to the taser. Sometimes science fiction really does become a reality.)"
