InitialIdioms.doc

Initial Idioms

AA
- Alcoholic's Anonymous - a group that helps people recover from alcohol abuse
My boss has been going to AA meetings for over a year.

AD
- Anno Domini - used to mark time that comes after the commonly accepted beginning of the Christian era
The ancient city was founded in 125 AD.

AGM
- Annual General Meeting - the annual meeting of an organization
My sister attended the AGM of the condominium owners last night.

AI
- Artificial Intelligence - used for robots etc.
Several professors at our university have been researching AI for many years now.

AIDS
- Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome - a disease of the immune system
Recently the number of AIDS patients has been increasing rapidly in many countries.

AM
- Amplitude Modulation - a type of radio frequency
We don't listen to AM radio much because we don't like the songs that they play.

AOB
- Any Other Business - used in meetings etc.
The organizer of the meeting wrote AOB at the bottom of the meeting information sheet.

AOK
- great, doing well
He said that he was feeling AOK even after the truck had hit him.

APB
- All Point's Bulletin - used by the police when looking for a criminal
The police put out an APB on the men who had robbed the bank.

ASAP
- As Soon As Possible
Please finish the first draft of the letter and give it to me ASAP.

AWOL
- Absent Without Leave - often used in the military
The military police were searching the area for the soldier who had gone AWOL.

BA
- Bachelor of Arts - from a university
My brother has received a BA in economics from his university.

B&B
- Bed and Breakfast - a small inn or hotel that serves breakfast
My sister wants to open a small B&B when she quits her job.

B&E
- Break and Enter - a criminal act of breaking into a house or building to steal something
When I was going to university there was a B&E in my apartment.

BLT
- Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato - a type of sandwich
We went into the restaurant and ordered a BLT sandwich.

BO
- Body Odor - smell of sweat from the human body
The BO from the man in the elevator was very bad.

BS
- Bullshit - lies or other information that is false
We heard a lot of BS at the meeting last night which nobody believed.

BSc
- Bachelor of Science - from a university
My cousin has just received a BSc in computer science from his university.

BYOB
- Bring Your Own Bottle - used for a party or dinner where each person must bring something to drink
I decided to have a dinner party at my house next week and told everyone that it was BYOB.

CA
- Chartered Accountant
We went to see a CA in order to get our income tax finished on time.

CD
- Compact Disc
The price of CDs has recently begun to decrease.

CEO
- Chief Executive Officer
My uncle was the CEO of a large computer company.

CIA
- Central Intelligence Agency - US spy and security organization
The CIA was involved in the efforts to free the hostage air force pilot.

C/O
- Care Of - used when you want to send something to someone at the address of another person
I didn't know my friend's address so I sent a letter to him C/O another friend of mine.

COD
- Cash On Delivery - used when a delivery person receives cash when they deliver something
I decided to send away for some video cassettes and the company said that they would send them to me COD.

CPA
- Certified Public Accountant
The woman in our accounting department has been studying for her CPA exams for three months.

DIY
- Do-It-Yourself
I went to a DIY store and bought the materials to build a bed.

DJ
- Disc Jockey
My cousin worked in the summer as a disc jockey while he was going to university.

DNA
- Deoxyribonucleic Acid - main constituent of the chromosomes of all organisms
The large university has spent a lot of money in the study of DNA.

DUI
- Driving Under the Influence
The man was sent to jail for several months on a charge of DUI.

DVD
- Digital Video Disc
The sales of DVDs is increasing every year in most video stores.
ECG
- Electrocardiogram - an electronic test of a person's heart
My father was asked to take an ECG test by his doctor.

eg
- Exempli Gratia - the Latin which means for example
The company has hundreds of small factories around the world - eg Italy, Mexico, Thailand and Korea.

ER
- Emergency Room - the place in a hospital which deals with emergency situations
The victims of the accident were quickly taken to the ER.

ESL
- English as a Second Language
The ESL classes at the college have been held for almost ten years now.

ESP
- Extrasensory Perception
The movie was about a small boy who had the ability of ESP.

ETA
- Estimated Time of Arrival
What will your ETA be when you return home next month?

FBI
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
The killers were found in a nationwide search by the FBI.

FM
- Frequency Modulation - a type of radio signal
The radio station that we listen to regularly is an FM station.

FYI
- For Your Information
I wrote FYI on the information bulletin and sent it to the other members of the staff.

GI
- Government Issue - stamped on US military equipment and often means US soldier
The man went to the store and bought a GI Joe doll for his son.

GMT
- Greenwich Mean Time - a place in England used as the standard for time around the world
The rocket will be launched at 10:00 AM tomorrow GMT.

GNP
- Gross National Product - the total value of goods and services produced by a country in one year
The GNP of the country that I visited last year has been decreasing for several years.

GP
- General Practitioner - a general doctor
I went to see a GP when I broke my leg last summer.

HIV
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus
The rate of HIV infection among drug users is very high.

HQ
- Headquarters
The HQ of the company is located in a small town in Korea.

IMF
- International Monetary Fund - an international agency that works to stabilize currencies etc.
The IMF imposed very strict currency guidelines that many people were opposed to.

IOU
- I Owe You - a signed paper saying that you owe money to someone
I gave my friend an IOU when I bought his stereo.

IQ
- Intelligence Quotient - a measure of a person's intelligence
The IQ of the new student is very high.

JP
- Justice of the Peace
They went to a JP when they decided to get married.

KO
- Knockout
The boxer won the match in the fifth round by a KO.

LLB
- Bachelor of Laws
My brother received his LLB and will begin to practice law next week.

LP
- Long-Playing Record
I recently decided to give all of my old LPs to a charity.

LPG
- Liquid Petroleum Gas
The truck carrying LPG was in an accident on the highway last night.

MA
- Master of Arts
My cousin's wife has recently decided to study for her MA in economics.

MIA
- Missing In Action
According to some people in the United States there are still some MIA soldiers in Vietnam.

MC
- Master of Ceremonies
My cousin was the MC for my sister's wedding.

MD
- Doctor of Medicine
She received her MD when she was 26 years old and has been practicing medicine since then.

MP
- Member of Parliament - used in the United Kingdom and Canada etc.
There were several MPs at the restaurant where we had dinner.

MP3
- MPEG-1 audio layer 3 - a method to compress digital audio
The three students listened to their MP3 players as they worked in the computer lab.
MSc
- Master of Science
The woman has an MSc in computer science and has been able to find a job easily.

NASA
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration - the US space organization
According to a spokesperson for NASA the rocket will be launched next week.

NATO
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization
The members of NATO are gathering for an important meeting next month in Brussels.

NB
- Nota Bene - Latin for take notice or note well
Our teacher told us to memorize the information in our text that is marked NB.

OAP
- Old Age Pensioner
At first I could not understand why I couldn't get the discount that was for OAPs only. Later I realized it was for senior citizens.

OAU
- Organization of African Unity
The OAU is working very hard to promote free trade between its various countries.

OD
- Overdose - on drugs
The man died because of a drug OD.

OR
- Operating Room - in a hospital
Before entering the OR the doctors carefully washed their hands.

PA
- Public Address System
Every morning the children listened to the latest school information over the PA.

PC
- Politically Correct - language that is not harmful or insulting to others
The university had a very strict policy that says that all material published in the school newspaper must be PC.

PC
- Personal Computer
The PC industry has been growing rapidly in recent years.

PE
- Physical Education
My PE class was held indoors during the winter months.

Phd
- Doctor of Philosophy
After receiving his Phd in history my friend was able to get a job at a university.

PLO
- Please Leave On - used when you want to leave something on a blackboard or whiteboard
Although the teacher wrote PLO on the blackboard the information was erased during the lunch break.

PM
- Post Meridiem - Latin for after noon
The meeting started at exactly 1:00 PM.

POW
- Prisoner of War
The negotiations regarding POWs continued for many years after the Vietnam war.

PR
- Public Relations
With good PR the politician was able to easily gain the support of many people.

PS
- Postscript - written at the end of a letter when you want to add some extra information
After finishing the main part of the letter I wrote PS to include something very important that I had forgotten.

PTA
- Parent-Teacher Association
We got home late last night after attending our son's PTA meeting.

PTO
- Please Turn Over - written on a piece of paper to tell someone to look at the other side
I wrote PTO on the last page of my essay to make sure that the professor would look at the last page.

RCMP
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police - Canada's national police force
The movie was about the RCMP and it took place in northern Canada.

RIP
- Rest In Peace - used when talking about someone who is dead or sometimes written on a gravestone
At the end of the movie RIP was written on the gravestone of the main character who had been killed.

RSVP
- Respondez S'il Vous Plait - French for please reply
The invitation said RSVP so I quickly sent off a note to say that I would be able to attend the party.

SOB
- Son Of a Bitch - a swear word used in anger or when you want to insult someone
The man called me a SOB when I drove in front of him in the parking lot.

SOS
- international code signal of distress, call for help
The sinking ship had been sending out an SOS signal but still nobody was able to come to their rescue.

TA
- Teaching Assistant
After leaving university he was able to get a job as a TA at the junior college.

TB
- Tuberculosis
For various reasons the number of TB cases has been increasing around the world recently.

TBA
- To Be Announced - used when something will be announced later
I looked in the television guide to see what the 7:00 movie would be but it only said TBA.

TGIF
- Thank Goodness (God) It's Friday
The restaurant had a large TGIF sign on the door and all drinks were half price.

TKO
- Technical Knockout
Although the boxer didn't appear to win the fight he was awarded a TKO and won the boxing match.

TLC
- Tender Loving Care
With lots of TLC the house plants did very well under my sister's care.

TP
- Toilet Paper
I went to the store and bought several rolls of TP.

UFO
- Unidentified Flying Object
The number of UFO sightings has increased dramatically recently.

UV
- Ultraviolet - a type of light ray
We used lots of sunscreen in order to protect ourselves from UV rays.

VCR
- Video Cassette Recorder
We bought a new VCR after our old one began to have problems.

VDU
- Video Display Unit
The VDU at work was beginning to cause problems with my eyes so I went to an eye doctor.

VHF
- Very High Frequency
The television wasn't working because of a problem with the VHF connection.

VIP
- Very Important Person
The football player was given the VIP treatment when he went to visit his hometown.

VP
- Vice-President
After serving faithfully as vice-president for many years my father was appointed to the position of company president.

VTR
- Video Tape Recorder
The VTR in the classroom was missing because someone was using it for a meeting.

WC
- Water Closet - toilet
As soon as we entered the park we went directly to the sign that said WC.

YMCA
- Young Men's Christian Association
The English classes at the YMCA were recommended to the students last year.

YWCA
- Young Women's Christian Association
My friend stayed at the YWCA when she visited New York City last summer.
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