Grind your words to save your & others' time
Times of writing tons of letters on a paper is far behind and members of business communities try shortening long phrases into a couple and reducing number of words into abbreviations. Normally, abbreviations are used to make the conversation or the written form of words be faster to express and understand. Abbreviations, and particularly initialisms are useful in making word sets easier and quicker to remember, write and say.
Switching from paper correspondence into electronic one, native English speakers almost simultaneously and unanimously started using abbreviations in correspondences to save time effectively.
Here is an example:
My smmr hols wr CWOT. B4, we used 2go2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 :- kids FTF. ILNY, it’s a gr8 plc.
Which means: My summer holidays were a complete waste of time. Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend and their 3 kids face to face. I love New York, it’s a great place.
Below are the most common and basic of those abbreviations that are popular among native English-speakers to follow suit:
0 = nothing
AFAIK= as far as I know
ATB = all the best
BBL = to be back later
BC = because
BRO = brother
CUL = see you later
CWOT = complete waste of time
EOD = end of debate
F2F = face to face
FYI = for your information
HAND = have a nice day
HB2U = happy birthday to you
HOLS = holidays
HRU = how are you
ICBW = it could be worse
IDK = I dont know
IDTS = I don’t think so
IMHO = in my humble opinion
JK = just kidding
KIT = keep in touch
L8 = late
LOL = laughing out loud
LTNS = long time no see
MYOB = mind your own business
N2S = needless to say
NP = no problem
OIC = oh, I see
PCM = please call me
ROFL / ROTFL = rolling of the floor laughing
TTYL = talk to you later
XOXO = hugs and kisses
P.S.
Note that these imply ONLY to informal correspondences!!!
Cover picture for the article has been copied from: www.yesware.com