ex-acronyms

[Karl Hagen]

Also note SAT (once "Scholastic Aptitude Test" then "Scholastic
Assessment Test", now another empty initialism), which the makers are
now calling the "SAT Reasoning Test" in full. That strikes me as being a
bit like "El Alamein" or "the hoi polloi", in that the fossilized
element is reduplicated.

Arnold M. Zwicky wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Arnold M. Zwicky" <zwicky at CSLI.STANFORD.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: ex-acronyms
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On Sep 6, 2006, at 11:39 AM, Ben Zimmer wrote:
>
>> Further orphan initialisms: KFC, IHOP, ESPN, AARP.
>>
>> The phenomenon is discussed here:
>> http://www.slate.com/id/2099747/
>> http://snopes.com/horrors/food/kfc.htm
>
> my correspondent cited: AARP, FFA, AAA, AT&T, ACT, NARAL.
>
> arnold
>
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