In our blog about online dictionaries we listed many great sources of texting terms,  and text and chat room acronyms. The internet and cell phone has spawned an entirely new language, with words, acronyms and terms added every day. Texting is fast, cheap and lets you communicate in real time. Everything about texting terms is the opposite of wordy.  Acronyms make communication quicker and communication is becoming less and less formal but no less effective. Acronyms, like emoticons, are used not only because they are short and understood by your peers,  but also because they can convey emotions concisely and clearly.

It is really good to know exactly what these acronyms means before you use them.  Again, there are sites and blogs devoted to the most disastrous and the funniest texting mistakes. One such site told the sad story of “A redneck thought “LOL” means “lots of love” so he texted the following message to his girlfriend:

“You are the only girl in my life… LOL…!”

Texting has also given rise to a unique category of websites which are all about tech-speak, in particular texting acronyms and abbreviations. There are hundreds of such sites which act as dictionaries or blogs devoted to text terms, including Techdictionary.com, Allacronyms.com, Noslang.com, Abbreviations.com and Internetslang.com There is even a text message and acronym translator  ‘designed to demystify internet language and lingo.’

common texting terms

2moro – Tomorrow
2nite – Tonight
BRB – Be Right Back
BTW – By The Way -or- Bring The Wheelchair
B4N – Bye For Now
BCNU – Be Seeing You
BFF – Best Friends Forever
CYA – Cover Your Ass -or- See Ya
DBEYR – Don’t Believe Everything You Read
DILLIGAS – Do I Look Like I Give A …
FUD – Fear, Uncertainty, and Disinformation
FWIW – For What It’s Worth -or- Forgot Where I Was
GR8 – Great
ILY – I Love You
IMHO – In My Humble Opinion
IRL – In Real Life
ISO – In Search Of
J/K – Just Kidding
L8R – Later
LMAO – Laughing My Ass Off
LOL – Laughing Out Loud -or- Lots Of Love -or- Living On Lipitor
LYLAS – Love You Like A Sister
MHOTY – My Hat’s Off To You
NIMBY – Not In My Back Yard
NP – No Problem or Nosy Parents
NUB – New person to a site or game
OIC – Oh, I See
OMG – Oh My God
OT – Off Topic
POV – Point Of View
RBTL – Read Between The Lines
ROTFLMAO – Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Ass Off
RT – Real Time or ReTweet
THX or TX or THKS – Thanks
SITD – Still In The Dark
SOL – Sooner Or Later
STBY – Sucks To Be You
SWAK – Sealed (or Sent) With A Kiss
TFH – Thread From Hell
RTM or RTFM – Read The Manual -or- Read The F***ing Manual
TLC – Tender Loving Care
TMI – Too Much Information
TTYL – Talk To You Later -or- Type To You Later
TYVM – Thank You Very Much
VBG – Very Big Grin
WEG – Wicked Evil Grin
WTF – What The F***
WYWH – Wish You Were Here
XOXO – Hugs and Kisses

Texting terms are often used in online chat-rooms as well. Everything about texting terms is the opposite of wordy.  Acronyms make communication quicker and communication is becoming less and less formal but no less ef