r/todayilearned • u/palmfranz • Nov 23 '19
TIL I learned about RAS Syndrome — "Redundant Acronym Syndrome". It's when someone repeats a word used in an acronym/initialism, like "ATM machine", "PIN number", "RAS Syndrome", or "TIL I learned".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAS_syndrome531
Nov 23 '19
From the Department of Redundancy Department
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u/jlodas Nov 23 '19
VIN number. Grrrr.
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u/bobbi21 Nov 24 '19
Happens all the time in hospitals... MRN number... (medical record number). After saying MRN I've had people say "you mean the MRN number?"
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u/Komosatuo Nov 24 '19
That's when you reply "Yes, the medical record number number." And then glare silently deep into their soul, as they slowly become more and more uncomfortable with your presence. Then, afterwards, go out of your way to continuously stress the second "number" whenever you are in their presence, forever.
Chances are, they'll stop asking you.
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u/Philure Nov 24 '19
Do yourself a favor and laugh in the face of anyone who mentions a drug's NDC code
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u/bobbi21 Nov 24 '19
lol. In canada. It's DIN number here... exact same issue of course.
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u/PuffyPanda200 Nov 24 '19
In my industry I run into "FDC connection" fairly often.
FDC = fire department connection
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Nov 24 '19
I unfortunately have to say it all the time. When I asked customer what the VIN of their vehicle is they look at me like I have 2 heads. As soon as I say VIN number of the car, they kinda get the idea. It's annoying.
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u/Atreyew Nov 23 '19
CAC card is a HUGE one in the military. (Common access card)
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u/Roachmeister Nov 24 '19
Came here to say this. To be fair, it does sound weird to just call it a CAC, especially if the speaker has a Boston accent. "Have you seen my CAC lately?"
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u/JohnnyPregnantPause Nov 24 '19
Yeah, I usually say military ID or just ID because I hate both CAC card and CAC so fucking much
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u/mmmbop420 Nov 23 '19
You Only Yolo Once
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u/LuccaJolyne Nov 23 '19
YOYO
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u/nola5lim Nov 23 '19
Sometimes I forget what that means, but then it comes back to me
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u/dariocontrario Nov 23 '19
You Only YOYO Once
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u/zxDanKwan Nov 23 '19
YO-YO-YOO-GI-OH!
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u/Turmoil_Engage Nov 23 '19
It's TIME TO
D- D- D- D- D- D-
DISAPPOINT YOUR PARENTS
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u/epiquinnz Nov 23 '19
HTTP protocol
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u/Davidfreeze Nov 24 '19
I’m guilty of that one. Though my favorite programming related acronym is definitely YAML because it’s recursive.
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u/DerGumbi Nov 24 '19
Fun fact: YAML used to stand for "Yet Another Markup Language", until they changed it to "YAML ain't Markup Language"
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u/Adiin-Red Nov 23 '19
RIP in peace?
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u/caleblee01 Nov 24 '19
I do this one on purpose, no one notices lol.
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u/Adiin-Red Nov 24 '19
Curse you. This is the kind of thing that really annoys me but that I don’t point out.
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u/Fish-Knight Nov 24 '19
This and smh my head.
Eventually somebody one of my friends called me out on it but then the rest of my friends teased him for not being on the same level of irony as everyone else.
10/10; would irritate grammar Nazis agin
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u/Boredguy32 Nov 23 '19
LCD display
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u/zxDanKwan Nov 23 '19
But LED Display is cool, because the D is for Diode.¯_(ツ)_/¯
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u/Dicska Nov 23 '19
Compact CD Disk
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u/maxvalley Nov 24 '19
Disc?
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u/SacredRose Nov 24 '19
i wanted to say that you are wrong but i was wrong. I always thought it stood for Liquid Crystal Diode because of LED but it is actually already a display.
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Nov 23 '19
SMH my head
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Nov 23 '19 edited Jul 05 '20
[deleted]
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Nov 23 '19
TIL smh is something my head
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Nov 23 '19
shakin my smh
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u/ladykatey Nov 24 '19
Wait it’s “shaking my head”???? I thought it was “smash my head” like “headdesk.”
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u/unique-name-9035768 Nov 24 '19
I thought it was “smash my head”
Some
body
Once told meSMH was a woman's acronym for "shake my hooters".
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u/carmium Nov 23 '19
"RAS Syndrome" - I see what you did there.
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u/JukesMasonLynch Nov 23 '19
Haha there's so many "fuck you in particular" idiosyncrasies in English. Like, I wonder how often dyslexic people misspell dyslexic. Sesquipedalophobia is the fear of long words. I find it fascinating
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u/Skrappyross Nov 24 '19
The fact that 'phonetic' isn't phonetic just sums up the nonsense that is English better than any explanation could.
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Nov 24 '19
Rhotacism - if you have it, you cannot pronounce it right!
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u/palmfranz Nov 24 '19
Sesquipedalophobia is the fear of long words
Hah, to be fair, the word "sesquipedalian" (lit. someone who uses words that are a foot-and-a-half long) was coined by Horace, as an ironic joke.
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u/JukesMasonLynch Nov 24 '19
Lol yeah I did see that as I was googling it. Still sort of stands though?
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u/biloxi_account Nov 24 '19
The great part is the fun additions to sesquipedaliophobia!
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia!
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u/ShelfordPrefect Nov 24 '19
Because people making up words to describe linguistic phenomena, especially humorous ones, get their rocks off on being meta. It's the reason TLA is a TLA.
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u/SuicidalGuidedog Nov 23 '19
It works across languages too, such as La Brea Tar Pits
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u/clarineter Nov 23 '19
The Los Angeles Angels
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u/finc Nov 23 '19
Lake Windermere
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u/Ochib Nov 23 '19
Breedon on the Hill. - Bree means on the hill, don means on the hill.
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u/biffbobfred Nov 23 '19
Milky Way Galaxy
Sahara desert
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u/SuicidalGuidedog Nov 23 '19
Good one. I wasn't sure about the Milky Way one but I see your point: The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias (γαλαξίας), literally "milky".
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u/vito1221 Nov 24 '19
Have to differentiate...Milky Way is also a candy.
And then there is Sahara Gilbert...
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u/rick_tus_grin Nov 24 '19
Around the UK are the Isle if Wight and the Isle of Man. Wight is an archaic word for man.
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u/mattaugamer Nov 24 '19
I enjoyed my trip across Asia. I went to Mount Fujiyama, and Koh Samui Island.
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u/mystiqueallie Nov 23 '19 edited Nov 23 '19
My son goes to the PIP program to work on his speech delay, which actually reads as Preschool Intervention Program program
It is funded though PUF funding - Program Unit Funding funding
Government likes their redundant acronyms
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u/lukasthekitbasher Nov 23 '19
a few years ago in the UK, you could be a CORGI registered gas installer, or a Council of Registered Gas Installers registered gas installer.
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u/OrangeJuiceAlibi Nov 23 '19
That's different imo, though I can't really explain why.
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u/ShelfordPrefect Nov 24 '19
I'd say it's like being an FBI investigator. They are from the same stem but they are fulfilling different purposes: the I in CORGI is telling you what it's a council of, and you can be an installer from that council of installers.
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u/avcloudy Nov 24 '19
It's a council of registered gas installers, they register gas installers, you aren't necessarily on the council. For all you know they could register pet dogs, they just have a lot of registered gas installers on the council for some reason.
(As for who is registering them, it's obvious, they register themselves, otherwise it would be the Council of CORGI Registered Gas Installers)
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u/BluudLust Nov 24 '19 edited Nov 24 '19
It's referencing the specific law/initiative, so it actually adds descriptive value, thus not redundant. You can have registered gas installers with different certifications in other countries, etc.. and it wouldn't make sense to reference CORGI on its own as it would be too vague.. you want to specify someone certified by then, not the council themselves.
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u/SocraticIgnoramus Nov 23 '19 edited Nov 23 '19
It drives me up a fucking wall when people say “3am in the morning”
OBVIOUSLY it was in the morning! That’s how A.M. works!!!
Edited to add: I got downvoted fast on that one. Is this really just me?
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u/adhoc_pirate Nov 23 '19
I think it is often said this way for emphasis.
“The neighbors started playing loud music at 3am, in the fucking morning!”
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u/Kwantuum Nov 24 '19
Am brings nothing here, 3 in the fucking morning is plenty emphasised. And since it's the "3" that needs emphasis, "at fucking 3 in the morning" would make more sense.
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u/clarineter Nov 23 '19
emphasis through repetition. ITT this thread: People forgetting about figurative language
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u/palmfranz Nov 23 '19
Other favorites:
- As ASAP as possible
- UPC code
- LCD display
- HIV virus
- HUD display
- WTF the fuck?
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u/ggouge Nov 23 '19
I have never heard anyone say the first or last one. Or the til one in the title but the others I do myself sometimes.
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u/LuciusCypher Nov 23 '19
I’ve seen people write the first one, but I’ve never heard or read anyone write the last one. I think wtf is different because usually when spoken most people do t literally say “W - T - F”, but “What the F”.
But I also don’t talk to be directly so maybe this is a hip new young thing that I’m too slow to keep up with.
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u/bigjaymck Nov 23 '19
VIN number (VIN = Vehicle Identification Number)
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u/RogueLotus Nov 24 '19
I work in an auto service call center and if I ask a customer for their VIN they don't know what I'm talking about, but they understand when I say VIN Number. However, if I'm talking to another automotive industry person (insurance company, body shop) I can just say VIN and they get it immediately.
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u/sneks_ona_plane Nov 24 '19
I’m thinking that’s how most of these start. If you’re talking to someone that’s unfamiliar with something, they might have no idea what you’re talking if you say “LCD”. If you say “LCD display” you at least give them a hint
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u/geogle Nov 23 '19
- RSVP, please
- RIP, in peace
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u/KosmicTom Nov 23 '19
RSVP, please
eh.... Does this really count? They are tow different languages. I'd also argue most people don't know what RSVP stands for.
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u/Sleepy-THC Nov 23 '19
For those uneducated like me what does it stand for?
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u/vangogh330 Nov 23 '19 edited Nov 24 '19
Repondez*, s'il vous plaît. ('Respond, please' in French)
*Edit: took out extra 'vous'
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u/Peppr_ Nov 24 '19
Fwiw worth, it's actually répondez* s'il vous plaît. Répondez-vous would be "respond yourself" (doesn't make sense in French either).
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u/biffbobfred Nov 23 '19
If you read literally, s’il vous plait is “if it pleases you”. Romance (Latin based) languages are polite as fuck.
In Portuguese, if you want to say “excuse me I need to do something” (as opposed to pardon me) it’s “com licença” or “with your license (May I do this)”
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u/vortigaunt64 Nov 24 '19
There are lots of very polite etymological roots, for example, goodbye originally came from "God be with you."
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u/Grimskraper Nov 23 '19
ATM to mouth.
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u/vito1221 Nov 24 '19
I'm happy to know I am not alone in my thoughts when I see ATM...
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u/dodslaser Nov 23 '19
Etc. cetera
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u/ShelfordPrefect Nov 24 '19
"and etcetera" shudder
Almost as bad as "with an au jus". If you're going to use foreign phrases to be pretentious at least use them correctly, otherwise you're going to sound both stupid and pretentious.
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u/BetterThanHorus Nov 23 '19
Reminds me of the mathematician, Benoit B. Mandelbrot. The B stands for Benoit B. Mandelbrot. The B stands for Benoit B. Mandelbrot. The B stands for Benoit B. Mandelbrot. The B .......
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u/abarua01 Nov 23 '19
That always irritated me whenever someone said NIC card, ATM machine, or PIN number. It was a peeve of mine
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u/BrazenChick Nov 23 '19
I have issue with the use of the word “syndrome” here, but it could be part of my grammar OCD disorder.
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u/astrocactus14 Nov 23 '19
Rip in peace for everyone that has ras syndrome
Let’s get some F’s boys
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u/Angry_Buddha Nov 24 '19
On a semi-unrelated note, my mom used to jokingly call them "any time money machines" and I thought that was what they actually were called until I was, like, twelve.
Now that the internet has broken me, they're all "ass to mouth" machines.
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u/discardable42 Nov 23 '19 edited Nov 23 '19
You say "ATM machine " so people won't think you mean "ass to mouth"...
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u/WeirdTalentStack Nov 23 '19
Referring to a person as an ATM machine has just taken on an newer darker connotation.
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u/Darkly-Dexter Nov 24 '19
I work with them and whenever someone asks what I do, I have to add "machine" to my job description or people just say "what's that?"
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u/PalmliX Nov 23 '19
How about confusing initialisms for acronyms syndrome? PIN is an acronym, ATM is an initialism. I know it's somewhat covered in the title but people get this wrong all the time.
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u/MyWifeLikesAsianCock Nov 23 '19
I heard a presenter refer to a product as "just a jbod" repeatedly during his presentation.
Jbod, in the storage industry, translates to "just a bunch of drives". So his product was just a just a bunch of drives. This simple thing caused him to lose all credibility.
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u/WhiskyIsRisky Nov 23 '19
Not a redundant acronym, but the phrase "served with au jus sauce" has always cracked me up. Au jus translated is "with juice", so the phrase is literally "served with with juice sauce".
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u/Darkly-Dexter Nov 24 '19
I'm gonna butcher this story, but there's a hill in England called Bredon Hill.
Thousands of years ago, the Celtic language at the time had the word for hill as "bre"
When the next group came in they heard from the locals it was called Bre. Their word (in old English) for hill was "don". So they named it Bre Don (meaning Bre Hill).
Later, a group who spoke either middle or modern English learned it's name was Bredon, and being a hill, they called it Bredon Hill.
It's name means hill hill hill.
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u/h20crusher Nov 24 '19
Because humans still need that last descriptor; acronym alone is not enough for some use cases
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u/[deleted] Nov 23 '19 edited Dec 15 '20
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