Showing posts with label SMS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SMS. Show all posts

01 May 2016

Mayday, Mayday


by Leigh Lundin

TeleType telex TTY
TeleType – early texting
It’s May Day, which got me thinking about mayday and codes. How did ‘mayday’ come to be a distress signal? It’s a mispronunciation of the French m’aider, from venez m’aider, “Come to my aid,” or “Come help me.”

So, parents and writers, it’s been a long time since we posted SMS codes and acronyms in use by kids, counter-culture, and people in technology. Some mnemonics have faded into obscurity like ROFL (rolling on floor laughing) and others have been truncated like WTF.

But OMG, a number remain with us (LOL). Some not only predate texting, but at least two, BRB and GA, date back to the days of that early messaging system, the telex. I wouldn't be surprised if Samuel Morse used such abbreviations.

I confess to liking ILYSM and 'bae' (short for bae-bae). Yet, as kids search for ever-more-circumspect communication, codes change rapidly.

You may see ‘Kik’ floating around. It’s not an acronym but a messaging phone app, popular with the young and bad guys because its messages evaporate after reading.
code meaning…
AF As ƒ, in context with other words, e.g, “That’s cool as ƒ.”
AFAIK As far as I know.
bae Babe, baby.
BMS Broke my scale, i.e, high marks for looks or deeds.
BRB Be right back.
cook Gang-up, dump on someone.
DOC Drug of choice.
FML ƒ my life, chagrin.
GA Go ahead.
HMU Hit me up, request for phone or message contact.
IDK I don't know.
ILYSM I love you so much.
KOTD Kicks of the day, sneakers.
LMAO Laughing my ass off.
LOL Laughing out loud. (still in use)
OMG Oh my God. (still in use)
OOTD Outfit of the day.
RN Right now.
smash Sexy, want sex.
SO Shout out, give recognition.
TBH To be honest.
TBR To be rude.
TF WTF? (What) the ƒ?
6 Sex, often used in combination with other codes, e.g, IW26U.
9, CD9 Parent in the room, or PIR. Formerly, POS meant parent over shoulder.

What codes are your kids sending?