OLAs - Official Latest Additions

[This summary post last updated 3.vi.21]

The best place to leave your suggestions for new TLAs is in the comments to this post.

EIT (CIA dodginess)
LKP (missing aircraft)
PNG (immigration)
PSE (porn meets education)
DMT (drugs)
SAF (football) LOL (Lesbianism)
PDA (Heat mag)
COP (The Beats)
ESM (Europe)
NFC (tech)
HMD (bankers' desperation)
FTM (soccer)
KBO (an attitude to life)
GID (medical)
OBE (facial hair)
MIC & AVB (Chelsea)
EMH (economics, finance)
EBA (Eurozone crisis Nov 2011)
POC (interactive media)
NTC (Libya)
DSK (IMF dodgy geezer)
SCG, MCG (cricket)
WFT, WIT (flexible working)
FBI (female bodies)
KoT (youth)
FPM, CPM (bad language)
WRU, FAW (Welsh sport)
CDA (Francais)
DUI (Mel Gibson)
LOL (Northern Irish politics ...and love)
VBM (property development)
OBR, NHT, IFS (UK politics)
ICO, DPA, DPO (data protection)
2IC (military)
TFP (photography/modelling)
WHL, MoS, RSA (football)
BFD (urban argot)
MBW (friend of Banksy)
ADT (The Beatles)
NIB (journalism/press)
FGM (barbarism)
MNU (District 9)
PBR, IDS, DWP (UK politics)
FAG (Team America)
TLV, EMP, REG, OCR (Dan Brown)
POD (geek speak)
TAS (from the mouth of Jack Nicholson)
ATM (a multifaceted one)
HWC (football again)
FIA + FFF (football & cheating)
CPH (to mark CPH:DOX film festival)
AIC (music)
NCM (relationships)
GDD (video games design)
FLK - courtesy of Dr Dawn Harper of Embarrassing Bodies
HABs - football
SCD (TV)
GSI (Scotland)
TOS (impolite)
RTG + OIC - from The Wire
G4P - stems from Antony Gormley's One & Other
QBM - 80s haircut
PIC - from Role Models movie
TYM - a break-through in Alzheimer's, improves screening from 50% to over 90%

Neologisms

As well as being on the look out for new TLAs, I'm also starting to collect Neologisms (newly coined words and phrases) which I'm dumping here (again, any you can add to the pot would be gratefully received):

shrinkflation - making products smaller rather than upping the price (7.18)

floordrobe - a bedroom floor where you chuck your clothes

freemale - an independent, modern woman who is happier living a fulfilling single life than actively pursuing romantic relationships

pharming - creating drugs using plants

Neverendum = the 2014 Scottish referendum
Nonsultation = a hollow 'consultation'

wavey = drunk = good
bump = rip off

belfie = a selfie of your bottom
welfie = a work-out selfie
drelfie = a drunken selfie

starchitect = world renowned architect

pregacy = impact of an initiative even before the event (e.g. effects of Commonwealth Games on Glasgow before the event)
predrinks = getting your evening off to a flying start with alcohol round at someone's place

wofty = a waste of fucking time (person) [estate agency]

himbo = a dumb good looking man

YOLO (vb.) = You Only Live Once as in 'he didn't YOLO it' - he didn't go wild

deer hoof = a very obvious camel toe

la-la / hoo-ha = vagina

Grexit = the probable exit of Greece from the Euro (May 2012) - Dramchmageddon = the probable exit of Greece from the Euro (June 2012)
Brexit = the possible exit of the UK from the EU (2016) [it happened today FFS! 24/6/16]
Frexit = the possible exit of France from the EU (24/6/16)

al desko = [eating] at your desk at work

clicktivism = online activism (see Slacktivism below)

sans sausage = female

meatspace = the real/off-line world

merch = merchandise (especially at music gigs)

zenployment = fulfilling work, even if the pay's not as good as you may be used to

Riot Wombles = volunteers who help clear up their neighbourhood after rioting/looting (9.viii.11)

Schadenfreudgasm = more 'joy in destruction' than you can handle - courtesy of John Oliver on Jon Stewart

Gliberal = comfortable people's style of being liberal

Ledge veg = food grown on windowsill or balcony

Slacktivism = online activism with no personal effort or real commitment

Hobby bobby - community support officer (William Boyd, Ordinary Thunderstorms)

Crash for cash - insurance scam involving ramming people's car rear ends

Hackney tax - theft of bike {courtesy of Alfie Dennen}

Floordrobe - where teenagers leave their clothes

Tanorexic - obsessed with having a sun tan

Autocutie - a sexy newsreader

Halfologue - one side of a conversation like when you overhear a mobile phonecall on the train

A Whiskey Tango Foxtrot moment - as in WTF = What the Fuck?!

Subvertiser - a remixer of advertisements {courtesy of Clifford Singer, creator of MyDavidCameron.com and Big Art Project}

Screenager - the generation addicted to web and games

Miaow Miaow - mephedrone, a legal high (for now at least)

Security theatre - giving the appearance of carrying out proper security checks {courtesy of Roger Graef, Films of Record}

Bromance - the development of a deep friendship between two buddies (came across several times in reviews of Judd Apatow's Funny People)

Frenemy - a so-called friend who is not genuinely on your side

Staycation - a vacation that is spent at one's home enjoying all that home and one's home environs have to offer AKA Holistay

Go To player - the player you have to get the ball to for success (Matt Dawson referring to the magnificent BOD [Brian O'Driscoll] (24.vi.09 Radio 4)

Flipping - changing the designation of your primary home for fraudulent purposes

Polypill - cocktail of 5 non-patent drugs to counter heart disease (30/31.3.09 reporting of article in medical journal)

Virtual reality financial products - the labyrinthine 'products' that brought about the Credit Crunch (31.3.09 Rowan Williams on BBC Radio 4)

to preg up - to get pregnant (Jen Topping's friend who loves One Born Every Minute)

to doxx - search for and publish private or identifying information about a particular individual on the Internet, typically with malicious intent [10/20]

Gin n Tin (11/19) - gin & mixer in a can

The Gram = Instagram

Picture credit: FAS at SFU (Faculty of Applied Sciences at Simon Fraser University, Canada)

F G H I

F

FAD = Fish Aggregation Device - see Hugh's Fish Fight / www.fishfight.net
FAG = Film Actors Guild (Team America)
FAI = Football Association of Ireland
FAS = Funeral Arbitration Scheme
FAW = Football Association of Wales
FBE = Foundation for the Built Environment - Prince Charles's outfit that opposes architecture like Richard Roger's plans for Chelsea Barracks
FBI = Female Body Inspector (The Other Guys)
FCO = Foreign & Commonwealth Office
FCP = Final Cut Pro
FDA = Food & Drug Administration
FECs = Foreign Exchange Coupons (Berlin 1940s/50s) {The One from The Other} FFF = Fédération Française de Football - the friggin feckin fuckers who cheated the FAI out of their place at the World Cup finals 2010 (Nov 2009)
FFS = for fuck’s sake
FGM = Female genital mutilation
FoI = Freedom of Information
FLO = Family Liaison Officer
FOB = Forward Operating Base {Kevin Powers, The Yellow Birds}
FOC
= Friends of Carlotta
= Father of the Chapel (Trade Union)
FOL = Fuck Our Lives
FOP = Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva - a condition where your body slowly freezes/hardens
FML = Fuck My Life not to be confused with FME = FremantleMedia Enterprises
FMV = Full motion video {courtesy of Alice Taylor}
FDR = Franklin Delano Roosevelt
FEP = Future England Player {courtesy of practicalpsychologist}
FHS = Fairley House School
FLK = Funny Looking Kid (doctors' notes term) {courtesy of Dr Dawn Harper of Embarrassing Bodies}
FPM = Fucks per minute (film/tv curse count) cf CPM {courtesy of The Word podcast}
FRO = fuck right off (as in “I’m going to FRO now” rather than as a term of abuse - courtesy of Cowbite)
FSA = Free Syrian Army
FTM = Fuck the Mags [Grayson Perry encounters it in In the Best Possible Taste - working class]
FTW = For The Win (geeks, courtesy of Mike Butcher, TechCrunch) + Fuck The World (bikers) + Forever Two Wheels (motorcycle enthusiasts)
FPA = Funeral Planning Authority
FSA
= Football Supporters' Assocation
= Financial Services Authority
= Food Standards Agency
= Farm Security Administration {Greil Marcus, Like a Rolling Stone}

FCO = Foreign & Commonwealth Office 

FFI = French Forces of the Interior (post-WW2)

FLK = Funny-looking Kid (hospital - delivery ward)

FRT = Facial Recognition Technology

FTA = free-to-air

FTP = Franc-Tireurs et Partisans Francais (French Communist Party’s military wing WW2)

G

G4P = Gormley 4th Plinth {courtesy of Jiblite and the Antony Gormley Flickr Group}
G4S = the arsists formerly known as Group Four Security, poster boys of Private Sector Outsourcing (massive fail on London 2012 Olympics)
GAP = Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry (Paterfamilias - Jane Kramer)
GBB = Gun Before Butter (Nicholas Freeling)
GHS = Gormley HimSelf
GLC
= Greater London Council
= Global Learning Commons {Open, David Price}
GNH = Gross National Happiness
GSM = Global System for Mobile communications {courtesy of Alfie Dennen}
GED = Gand Enforcement Detail {Michael Connelly}
GEH = Gormley Event Horizon {courtesy of Billy Liar}
GCT = Grand Central Terminal {courtesy of Bronx Elf}
GDD = Game Design Document (courtesy of Simon at Littleloud}
GHQ = General Headquarters
GIB = Government Investigation Bureau {Zac Power}
GID = Gender Identity Disorder
GTA
= Greater Toronto Area {encountered by chance in the Facebook Group 'Single Muslims looking for their Soulmate in the GTA'}
= Grand Theft Auto
GOK = God Only Knows [commonly used on doctors' notes - from The Guardian: Medical Shorthand 8.2.08]
GBS = George Bernard Shaw
GDC = Game Developers Conference
GFE = Girl Friend Experience
GBH = Grievous Bodily Harm + Godalming Borough Hall
GLF = Gay Liberation Front
GMR = Greater Manchester Radio
GNR = Guns N' Roses (also GN'R)
GPF = Global Protection Force (Jack Stalwart books by Elizabeth Singer Hunt, current favourite of Enfant Terrible #2 - see GIB)
GPS = global positioning system
GQT = Gardeners' Question Time - an oasis of peace on a Sunday afternoon
GSE = Grapefruit Seeds Extract {courtesy of Denise on Medicine Chest}
GSS = Google Site Search
GSI = Great Scottish Invention (one I've coined at the Edinburgh Festival 2009)
GTOs = Girls Together Outrageously = an acapella girl group from the Los Angeles area, specifically the Sunset Strip scene
GWM = Googling While Muslim {Kamila Shamsie, Home Fire}
GYO = Grow Your Own (came across thanks to my Landshare project with River Cottage)
GBF = Gay Best Friend ("every girl's gotta have one") {courtesy of Kate Quilton}

GCA = Ground-controlled approaches (aviation - Armageddon, Leon Uris)

GHP = Grand Hotel Palace (Via Veneto, Rome)

GMC = General Motors Company

GOT = Game of Thrones 

H

HABs = Husbands & Boyfriends - male equivalent of WAGs {Nicky Campbell discussing European Women's Soccer Championship on BBC Radio 5}
HBC = Helena Bonham Carter {courtesy of Mayo & Kermode}
HMG = His Majesty's Government (Evelyn Waugh, Scoop)
HRD = Human Resource Development {courtesy of Practical Psychologist}
HEI = Higher Education Institution
HFS = Holy Fucking Shit (synthetic drug in 21 Jump Street)
HoF = House of Fraser (as in "I'm nipping out to HOF") {courtesy of Alma Demirdzic & Lizzy Keene}
HLC = Hideous Lady's Cardigan {Nationwide TV ad}
HLF = Hadditon Literary Festival (Stephen Frear's Tamara Drewe - the HLF was shot in Muswell Hill Bookshop)
HMD = Hold My Dick {courtesy of Bob Diamond's daughter}
HMG = Her/His Majesty's Government
HMU = Hit Me Up {courtesy of @Tim / Tim Bradshaw via @technokitten}
HFR = Horseferry Road
HFW = High frequency words
HOE = Hierarchy of Effects (advertising)
HON = Health on the Net {courtesy of MedicineChest Ltd}HOO = Hazardous Offensive Operations (a status of an army unit) {Evelyn Waugh, Men at Arms}
HTH = hope that helps
HWC = Homeless World Cup {courtesy of Jan Bednarz at Buzz Films}

HBR = Harvard Business Review

HBS = Harvard Business School

HCB = Henri Cartier-Bresson

HEA = Higher Education Academy

HEW = Dept. of Health Education & Welfare {Crip Camp}

HMG = Her Majesty's Government 

HMP = Her Majesty's Prison

HOO = Hazardous (/Hostile) Offensive Operations {Officers & Gentleman, E. Waugh} 

I

IAB = Internet Advertisers Bureau (trade association for internet marketeers)
IAG = International Airlines Group (BA + Iberia) - buying BMI in Nov 2011
IAF = Israeli Air Force {My Promised Land, A. Shavit}
IAI - Israel Aerospace Industries {Shimon Peres, No Room for Small Dreams}
IBC = International Broadcast Centre (London Olympics 2012)
IDF
= International Documentary Foundation (Prague)
= Israel Defense Forces
ILS = Instrument Landing System (aviation)
IPG = Independent Publishers Guild {Arts Council = ACE}
ISA = Israel State Archives
ISR = In-Situ Recovery (a method of extracting uranium) {courtesy of Adam James Gee of Uranium One in Australia}
ITB = Invitation to Bid {courtesy of the UN via Practical Psychologist}
ITT = Invitation to Tender {courtesy of Mike Flood Page of Illumina Digital}
ICT = (no, not the dull one but) Inverness Caledonian Thistle (the northerly football team)
IBS = Irritable Bowel Syndrome {Embarrassing Illnesses online, Maverick TV} - not to be confused with IDS = Iain Duncan Smith
IOC = International Olympics Committee [to mark the Olympics hand-over 24.8.08 ]
ICO = Information Commissioner's Office
ICU = Intensive Care Unit
IED = Improvised Explosive Device (heard in a recent news report about Afghanistan)
IEP = Individual Education Plan
ICE = US Immigration & Customs Enforcement (The Visitor)
ITT = Initial Teacher Training
IMC = Integrated Marketing Communications (advertising industry)
IMF= International Monetary Fund
= International Media and Film/Internationale Medien und Film GmbH {Slap Her She's French}
IMO
= International Maritime Organisation
= In My Opinion
INM = Independent News & Media (owner of the Independent and IoS = Independent on Sunday)
ISA = Intelligent Speed Adaptation (mooted technology for limiting car speeds, in the news 12.08)
ISB = Incredible String Band {Some People Are Crazy, John Munro}
IRD = Information Research Dept. (Foreign Office) {Sweet Tooth}
IRG = Iranian Revolutionary Guards {Michael Connelly}
IRL
= In Real Life {courtesy of Mike Butcher of Techcrunch}
= Indy Racing League
= Ireland
IoM = Isle of Man (George Best Airport, Belfast)
ICC
= International Criminal Court (who yesterday 3.3.09 issued a warrant for the arrest of Omar al Bashir, President of Sudan who then withdrew the licences to operate of various NGOs in a new Waltz with Bashir)
= International Cricket Council
ITF = Indie Training Fund (where I spoke on Multiplatform interactive media yesterday 3.3.09 at the invitation of MFP [Mike Flood Page of Illumina Digital] but unfortunately my taxi arrived at ITF = International Transport Federation, so a real life example of the dangers inherent in TLAs)
IFB = the Irish Film Board aka Bord Scannan na hÉireann
IFS = Institute of Fiscal Studies (who told the 3 main parties in the UK general election that they had not detailed their planned spending cuts sufficiently for voters to make an informed judgment 27.4.10)
IRS = Internal Revenue Service
IOT = In Our Time (with Melvyn Bragg on BBC Radio 4)
IWM = Imperial War Museum
IZL = Irgun Zvai Le'umi

ICE = U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

ICU = Intensive Care Unit

IMG = International Marxist Group

IRC = Immigration Removal Centre {Spring, Ali Smith}

ISK = Intelligence Section Know (Secret Days Code-breaking in Bletchley Park)

ITP = Invitation to Pitch (BBC)

U V W X Y Z

U

UAF = Unite Against Fascism, sworn enemies of EDF = English Defence League and BNP
UBI = Unexplained Beer Injury [commonly used on doctors' notes - from The Guardian: Medical Shorthand 8.2.08]
UAW = United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (from Julien Temple's Requiem to Detroit)
UBT = Unique Buying Tribe (from Zag by Marty Neumeier)
UCH = University College Hospital (where the Enfants Terribles were born) - so a potential life journey: UCH to UCS to UCL
UCL = University College London (home of the Slade)
UCS = University College School
UFC = Ultimate Fighting Championship - see MMA
UKA = UK Athletics
ULR = Union Learning Rep
UNV = United Nations Volunteers {courtesy of Practical Psychologist}
UOR = Urgent Operational Requirement = MOD's accelerated procurement process (much criticised by the PAC = Public Accounts Committee)
UPI = United Press International (news agency)
URL = Uniform Resource Locator [not a directory of army tailors but the most oft used TLA of which no-one cares about the long form]
USC = University of Spoiled Children (aka University of Southern California) {Less than Zero, Bret Easton Ellis}
USD = University of San Diego
UTC
= Co-ordinated Universal Time - a time standard based on International Atomic Time (TAI) and I think it's the same as GMT, indeed looks to me like a dastardly Francophone plot to oust dear old Greenwhich {courtesy of Atto}
= The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
UUC = University of Ulster at Coleraine {courtesy of alumnus Practical Psychologist}
UWV = University of West Virginia {Indignation, Philip Roth}

UBL = Usama bin Laden 

UCL = University College, London

UCO = Undercover Officer (In the Line of Duty)

UPF = Ultra-passionate Fans

UTC = Ulster Tyre Co. (Letterkenny)

UWO = Unexplained Wealth Order 

V

VAC = Village Activities Committee {John Updike, Rabbit at Rest}
VBM = Vision Balls Money {the keys to successful property development according to Ian Lerner, redeveloper of the Black Cat Building, Mornington Crescent}
VBV = Verified By Visa
VDC = Vietnam Day Committee (Paterfamilias - Jane Kramer) VLV = Voice of the Listener & Viewer
VFM = Value for Money {courtesy of Paul Deane at Aardman}
VMAs = MTV Video Music Awards
VoA = Voice of America {courtesy of Mike Stewart}
VOC = voice of the customer
VOR = Visual Omni-range (aviation)
VPN = Virtual Private Network

VPS = Violent Passion Surrogate (from Brave New World, Aldous Huxley: "We flood the whole system with adrenalin. It's the complete physiological equivalent of fear and rage. All the tonic effects of murdering Desdemona and being murdered by Othello, without any of the inconveniences."

VPT = Very Personal Trainer {Gym Box, location for Body Shop (w/t)}
VPU = vision processing unit
VTT = Velo Tout Terrain, mountain bike [learnt in Ondres, Les Landes]

VBW = Very Best Wishes {Spring, Ali Smith}

VCU = Vought Comic Universe (The Boys)

VFW = Very Few Whites {The Enforcer}

VOA = Voice of America (radio)

VMI = Virginia Military Institute {RBG}

VRN = Vehicle Registration Number (copspeak)

VSC = Vietnam solidarity campaign 

W

WAGS = Wives & Girlfriends (football - see HABs above)
WBA = West Bromwich Albion FC
WBL = Work-based Learning
WCL = Web Component Library {courtesy Channel 4 New Media}
WHL = White Hart Lane, home of Spurs
WFK = Who fucking knows? {courtesy of Louby - "I made it up just for you."}
WEA = Workers' Educational Association
WFM = Whole Food market
WFH = Working from home {courtesy of Mark Sheldon}
WFT = Working from Toilet (courtesy of Sarah Rogers)
WIA = World in Action (Granada TV)
WIP = Working in Pants / Working in Pyjamas
WIP = Work in Progress {courtesy of Charlie Martin of Airlock}
WKM = Wiener Kunstmaterialen {Waiting for Sunrise, William Boyd}
WOM = Word of mouth
WoW = World of Warcraft
WPP = Witness Protection Program (spotted in The Bloomsday Dead, Adrian McKinty)
WRL = Work-related Learning {Skillset}
WRU = Welsh Rugby Union
WTC = World Trade Centre {as in Man on Wire}
WTF = What the fuck! or WFH = Working from Home {courtesy of Louby}
WTG = Way to go! {courtesy of Dhamaka}
WTS = Want To Sell {courtesy of Moblogger Puddlepuff}
WTB = Want To Buy
WTT = Want To Trade
WtW = Wall to Wall (TV production co.) {courtesy of Claire Hungate, Shed}
WWE = World Wrestling Entertainment
WWF = Words with Friends

WBC = Westboro Baptist Church {How to Think}

WBR = World Bicycle Relief (charity)

WEC = Wireless Experimental Centre (India) (Secret Days Code-breaking in Bletchley Park)

WFH = Working from Home (Corona 2020)

WMG = Warner Music Group

WMP = Wife of Member of Parliament {Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend}

WOW = Walking On Water (cafe, San Diego) {Year of the Monkey, Patti Smith}

WRP = workers’ revolutionary party

WWE= world wrestling entertainment

WCW = world championship wrestling 

X

YPU = Yale Political Union

XRF = X-ray florescence {courtesy of Practical Psychologist}

Y

YBA = Young British Artist(s) like Marc Quinn
YIF = yours in friendship "and is used to sign off emails in groups like Ladies Circle and Girlguiding UK" {courtesy of Technokitten}
YMO = Yellow Magic Orchestra {courtesy of Practical Psychologist}
YoY = Year on year
YSL = Yves Saint Laurent

Z

ZPL = Zero-error Probabilistic Logarithmic space {courtesy of Mat} (not too useful in my world but I think with Z it's probably a case of beggars can't be choosers)
ZSL = Zoological Society of London (of which Darwin was an early Fellow - to mark a great visit to the Zoo today 5.i.10)
ZTT = Zang Tumb Tuum {courtesy of Technokitten}

2IC = Second in Command {Apthorpe in Evelyn Waugh's Men at Arm}