Thursday, October 22, 2009

backronyms actually circumvent knowledge of rare original names to yield meaning

backronym is a portmanteau combining "back" (i.e. 'retro-') with "acronym" (i.e. initialism - a word where each letter stands for another word) to describe words that have a made up acronym after the original word already exists.


a common example would be adidas, the athletic apparel company. many believe adidas is an acronym for "all day i dream about sports," while its true origin is itself another portmanteau of the founder's name, adolf "adi" dassler (bonus tidbit - puma, a competing athletic apparel company, was founded by adi's brother rudolf. i guess he didnt like the name "rudodas")

this showcased example illustrates a type of backronym known a 'false acronym,' where most backronyms are created intentionally with humor in mind.

a backronym with some humorous commentary regarding the long waits when flying delta airlines, the largest commercial airline is "delta: doesn't ever leave the airport"

know any others?

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