Acronymic Mockery, Folk Acronyms

[nwhitman@ameritech.net]

Though the original word is not afaik an acronym, in 1979 my cousin told me Adidas stood for "all day I dream about sex."

Neal

On 6/12/2010 12:48 PM, Mark Peters wrote:
Hey folks,
I'm writing a column this week on what I'm calling "Acronymic Mockery," a form of folk acronym-specifically, how people are saying that BP really stands for "Bungled Plugjob," "Brazen Polluters," "Beyond Punishment," etc.

I'm trying to get as many other examples as I can too. I've found plenty involving the CIA, FBI, NRA, and NFL, such as the well-known "No Fun League" and "People Eating Tasting Animals" (PETA). Any other examples come to mind? This isn't really about folk acronyms proposed as etymology, but what the hell, if there's a not-so-well-known example, I'd welcome that too.

If anyone knows of an article about this, that tip would be particularly appreciated. I found a couple old ones in the Journal of American Folklore, but there must be more. Thanks!

Mark

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