Acronym-etymologies

[Mark A Mandel]

On Tue, 2 Apr 2002, ANNE V. GILBERT wrote:

#Linguistically, it could well be a backronym.  *But* I have actually heard
#unwanted e-mail of the type called "spam" defined as "self-propelled
#advertising mechanism".

OK, but that's not a definition by any reasonable definition of
"definition"; it's a cute description, the usual motivation for a
backronym. "Self-propelled"?!

-- Mark A. Mandel