Internet Abbreviations Added To Oxford Dictionary 101
f1vlad writes "Philologists have added popular internet abbreviations to the one hundred twenty-six year-old Oxford English Dictionary. Among these are the popular OMG, LOL, and FYI. 'Dictionary compilers said that although the terms are associated with modern electronic communications, some are surprisingly old. The first confirmed use of "OMG" was in a letter in 1917. "Things people think are new words normally have a longer history," Graeme Diamond, the dictionary's principal editor for new words, said Friday.'"
On this day in internet slang history (Score:5, Informative)
March 25, 1952: Upon receiving a humorous letter from a friend, Wellesley College student Lucy Michaels wishes to write back and express how much the letter amused her. Unfortunately, having hurt her wrist the day before in a tragic lacrosse incident, Lucy is forced to abbreviate her feelings by simply scratching out the simple abbreviation "LOL" on a postcard with her off-hand, hoping to explain the abbreviation in a phone call later. History was made.
It is to pioneers like Lucy Michaels and many others like her that we today owe our modern internet vernacular. Kudos to you, Lucy, and may you RIP.
tinfoil hat also added (Score:5, Informative)
noun :the tinfoil hat brigade
humorous
used in allusion to the belief that wearing a hat made from tinfoil will protect one against government surveillance or mind control by extraterrestrial beings:you don't need to be wearing a tinfoil hat to understand that your privacy might not be as private as you would think
[as modifier]
GTFO. (Score:3, Informative)
(link is goatse)