A second helping of alphabet soup

Posted By Joshua Keating Friday, May 1, 2009 - 11:58 AM Share

In this week's list of the world's worst acronyms, I asked readers to send in nominations for the ones that bug them the most. We already have some great ones:

Lindsay J. Gardner:

MANPADS: man portable air defense system
I should know I work on them daily and have to say the word MANPADS over and over. It’s border-line embarrassing.

Stephen E. Trimboli:

It’s a little dated, but remember the South West African People’s Organization – SWAPO! It always sounded to me like a State Lottery game, a boardwalk amusement, or a bad TV game show.

John Carrick:

CHOGM, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Sounds like a hapless hungry diplomat, dutifully attending yet another bleak reception, chomping on a tough, cold, dry chicken leg and inadvertently crunching the bone …

Kevin Miller:

SAP: the German software company that produces the WAY overpriced business solutions apps. Are you a sap for buying it? I say so.

Lauren Gelfand:

C'mon, what about the MILF [Moro Islamic Liberation Front] in the Philippines?

Send your favorites to fpletters@foreignpolicy.com and I'll keep posting the best ones here.

EXPLORE:BAD ACRONYMS

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TRAXTON

1:28 PM ET

May 1, 2009

I like it!

Keep them coming! It reminds me of seeing those pictures on the internet for the Ontario Mega Finance Group.

B. ELLI COSE

2:48 PM ET

May 1, 2009

LOL

Lauren Gelfand wins, hands down! :)

BRIAN D

9:58 PM ET

May 1, 2009

MANPADS

Ha. That one came up just today in a military staff officers' course. Bladder control jokes ensued. Yeah, we're adults...

KAROLINA CASTRO

10:01 AM ET

May 20, 2009

UNHAS

This is funny only in Portuguese. UNHAS stands for UN Humanitarian Air Service and in Portuguese "unhas" means "nails"!
:)

JW32181

11:27 PM ET

May 28, 2009

These are really funny. They

These are really funny. They should be turned into bumper stickers.

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