ACRONYM(M) (A Cheery Retelling Of News You Might have Missed)

There's nothing we like more here at NPR (or ToTN for that matter) then an acronym. We are an acronym for goodness' sake. Sometimes, in a meeting, you have to duck so as not to be hit by a stray letter. "Isn't he at CSIS.?" "I thought it was CFR." "Can someone call SAIS and find out? I mean, WT*." You'd think, by the way, that chat/text-speak would have somehow missed such an august institution as NPR, even though it's seriously prevalent on The Hills. Unfortunately, no. It's a darn FAA around here (Flying Acronym Attack). That's why it made me giggle this morning, when, halfway through my MRI (Morning Read-In), consisting of the WP, NYT, and Fark, I found this story on the last's rather thorough round-up of "news." Apparently, a streetcar is going into the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle. It's affectionately being labeled the South Lake Union Trolley. You can see, of course, that the trolley is acronymically challenged (SLUT). And even though the SLUS (South Lake Union Streetcar) is its real, grown-up, name, that hasn't stopped all the clever youngsters from making witty t-shirts with the SLUS's first acronym. Bless Fark for finding just the thing to make a Tuesday a little more... human. And now, it's your turn to ride the acronym train. Give it to us! (And please, we've heard National Propaganda Radio before, from both the right and the left.) Nail Polish Remover! Nepalese Rupee! No Prior Record! No Purchase Required! (Except, public radio sure does take pledges. Now Pledge yer Riches.)

Barrie Hardymon

Tags: NPR | South Lake Union Streetcar | acronyms