AcronymFinder.com: Best Web Site for Finding Acronyms

In this day and age of text messaging and using shorthand spelling for everything, we have gotten used to seeing acronyms, those groups of initials which make the National Football League the NFL, the Federal Bureau of Investigation the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service the IRS.

The internet is full of resources that can help us learn more acronyms, but perhaps one of the best I have seen is the aptly titled Acronym Finder ( http://www.acronymfinder.com ) This website looks simple but, in fact, it is the home of almost 600,000 acronyms, abbreviations, and initials that we come across everyday (and some we don't). Furthermore, Acronym Finder is associated with Acronym Attic, which has a database of 4 million acronyms (though Acronym Attic states that Acronym Finder is human-staffed and therefore is checked for accuracy; Acronym Attic may contain errors and offensive acronyms).

I have typed in all sorts of acronyms at Acronym Finder and, sure enough, I have always gotten returns. What is interesting is how many of the "popular" acronyms refer to groups, organizations, and entities outside of their popular reference. Such as, the NFL refers to the National Football League, but did you know it is also the popular abbreviation of Newfoundland? It is the acronym for the National Forensic League, and also refers to Neue Funf Lander, the states comprising former East Germany. Oh, if you say you are a fan of the NFL, you may just receive a laugh or two. After all, while you may be thinking about the gridiron and the Super Bowl, your audience may have another "NFL" in mind---Nerds For Life!