I would like to know the phrases that we use here --that confuse and leave questioning those who translate or are from other cultures.

In Portugal we use LOL, too :)

2 comments

by rescuer 27 Feb 2013

I wonder how many places use LOL.
Does it mean "Laugh Out Loud" for you as well?

by anabela 27 Feb 2013

Yes it does. It is a fact that in many countries use English expressions and consequently also the abbreviations. There are English expressions that make no sense when they are translated. Computerization / internet/ socia networks, led to, that certain English words were spoken as if they were part of the native language of each country.

Some more from a quilting list:

HSY Haven't Started Yet

PHD Project Half Done (yes - we all have PHD's behind our names!!!)

WIM Work In Mind

WIVSP Work in Very Slow Progress

TOAD Trashed Object Abandoned in Disgust

PIG Project In Grocery bag

USO Unstarted Object

STASH Special Treasures All Secretly Hidden (!!!)

SABLE Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy


And my favourites...

FART Fabric Acquisition Road Trip ( so can we call previous trips Old farts???)

WOMBAT Waste Of Money Batting And Time

1 comment

by rescuer 22 Feb 2013

I am pretty sure I have a SABLE. LOL
My young boys LOVED the FART and Old FART's!
I try really hard not to have any WOMBAT's

Well, it seems to me that it doesn't really matter if you're highly educated, not educated, dyslexic, foreign (hey! foreign according to whom??), funny, staid, old, young, and all those other things that make us different from the next person, we all have a great time here and there is so much camaraderie and concern for each other that makes this place unique. I find the conversations fascinating.
I think we must all be smiling because I've read again and again that a smile is universal and we all understand that...... :}
Best of all, if we don't understand what's been posted we are welcome to ask what it means and no-one should feel, or be, belittled by not knowing something. I just love the way we all contribute in our own special way and we're all OOAK in the end.
AlmaG.

2 comments

by asterixsew 16 Feb 2013

Alma you have put this beautifully

by rescuer 16 Feb 2013

Thank you for this wonderfully true comment. I love that we can all be OOAK (one of a kind) and still be friends regardless of the many miles between us.

The LOL and similar acronyms as a rule are not part of a sentence, so they may be a mystery, but don't alter the meaning of what's said before.
It's things like 'sew' instead of 'so' that produces very confusing translations, as do a lot of spelling errors (including using to for too), imagine what using plaice for place does for a translation.

1 comment

by spendlove 15 Feb 2013

LOL (Ouch)

I found a Quilter's Acronym list to share with all of you.

1 images:[1]

4 comments

by asterixsew 14 Feb 2013

Lovely

by mary51 14 Feb 2013

Thank you!!!!

by rescuer 14 Feb 2013

I love it! Thank you
Additional information for the non-quilters, a Fat Quarter is not a body part. ;)

by cfidl 15 Feb 2013

ROFL Iis what I am doing now! Translation is Rolling On Floor Laughing, it goes with Lol!

What a great thread of conversation. It makes tears comes to the eyes especially the first one ROTFTMTA.
Thanks ladies you made my day.

1 comment

by rescuer 12 Feb 2013

Laughter is the best medicine. The only known side effects are the sides and tummy hurt from laughing.

I recently asked my doctor what causes Arthritis. His answer was
TMB syndrome. After asking what TMB syndrome is he answered with a straight face. Too Many Birthdays.

2 comments

by rescuer 12 Feb 2013

Now I have a name for what ails me. LOL That is the end of birthdays for me. Perhaps if I ignore the birthdays the syndrome will go away. LOL

by crafter2243 12 Feb 2013

I doubt it. I already tried that. LOL

i used to teach egg art on the web every wednesday and i would show how to do a technique live with the webcam.
the one evening i set up and started the class and when i came to one point i told the class that they could now use a rubber to remove the marks.
All went very quiet till one little voice asked ....Is there something else i can use Annie as my husband doesn't have a spare one.
I didn't understand why the only sound i could here was laughter until it was explained that Americans use the word eraser and that a rubber had a totaly different meaning.
annie. using English but not as you may know it

3 comments

by rescuer 12 Feb 2013

That REALLY made me Laugh out Loud! Thank you!

by Janus48 12 Feb 2013

I just love that story. Had to send it along to a couple of friends...hope you don't mind. Also there is a site that has many many chat anacronyms and you'll never remember all of them but fun to read... http://www.netlingo.com/acronyms.... Thanks for brightening my day.

by crafter2243 12 Feb 2013

That is funny. Thanks for sharing.

Hi Rescuer, first of all let me thank you for some of the help you so freely offer on here. Your knowledge of computers is wonderful.

I found one of our old posts about the abbreviations some of us use on here - it was posted back in 2011!!!! Love and blessings Chris

1 comment

by rescuer 12 Feb 2013

Thank you! I am sure this older post will help some of the new Cuties if they read it. I hope they do. Some of them are very funny! In 2008 or 2009 when I first joined (but never posted), I was lost on some abbreviations.

It must be desperately confusing for those who rely on a translation service. I'm surprised that they don't give up altogether! I always try to use short sentences and avoid contractions and abbreviations.
It took me ages to fathom all of the abbreviations peculiar to this site when I joined!

2 comments

by rescuer 12 Feb 2013

Sue, I cannot imagine how difficult it must be for them. It is that much harder because I cannot seem to spell words without missing letters or mixing them up. I think one of the most confusing ones may be when many (even on other sites) use "sew" instead of "so"

by crafter2243 12 Feb 2013

Ha, ha. Don't use "sew" in a business letter. I can identify with the rescuer. My brain doesn't send the info correctly to my fingers. Probably the same TMB syndrom that causes me to misspell or jumble up letters.

So I just looked up "cut offs" as I discovered -- even in English that can be misunderstood. It means pants cut off and worn as shorts or in Carolyns post it means cut off threads used in her design but she also makes cut off pants. It is a wonder we all communicate! Thank you all for being patient! If I ever type something you do not understand, please ask me. Thank you all.

Had to text my son and ask what the letters meant he was trying to say in his text. I did finally figured it out before he got back with me but it is a whole new language. Besides lol (laughing out loud) I try to choose words that will translate well for our other cuties. Do forget on some of the contractions.

5 comments

by rescuer 11 Feb 2013

Do contractions not translate well either?

by capoodle 11 Feb 2013

I do not know but I have tried to not use so many but it is a challenge of our language.

by rescuer 12 Feb 2013

Now, if I could only spell! LOL I guess I should be using Chrome to view this site and make posts. My original post I mixed up letters in "because" and now I am SMH (which means shaking my head)

by eggyannie 12 Feb 2013

only contractions i know are the ones i had when i labour

by rescuer 12 Feb 2013

Annie, I remember those contractions. I am happy I get to avoid those in the future.

We in our village say TTFN- meaning ta ta for now :):) carolyn

1 comment

by rescuer 11 Feb 2013

Tigger was always a favorite Pooh character in my house. Years ago we had a cat named Tigger. It was orange stripped and it pounced and bounced everywhere!

Were I come from it means LOTS OF LOVE.

2 comments

by rescuer 11 Feb 2013

Then when I type LOL it must have been very confusing. What part of the world do you come from?

by lilylady 11 Feb 2013

northern minnesota usa

the best one for me it was UFO (no alien stuff), just un finished objects !

MIL (mother-in-law)
SS (secret sister or secret santa)

1 comment

by rescuer 11 Feb 2013

I have too many UFO's and it took me a few minutes to get the DH SS DD...abreviations when I first joined this site years ago.

Okay, I'n from the South and I didn't know two of those!

3 comments

by asterixsew 11 Feb 2013

south of where?

by rescuer 11 Feb 2013

By South do you mean Southern USA? I am thinking this may be one of those situations where not all will understand without explaination.
Hugs

by fannyfurkin 13 Feb 2013

Indeed. you would need to be in the south pole to be south of some Australian cuties.

For me it was TIA (thanks in advance) and ROTFTMTA (Chris/pennifold was so kind and wrote what it means: Roll on the floor till my tummy aches :o).
Before the change we used ttt very often to push a post back to top and many people asked what this means (ttt = to the top ;-).
I'm sure there are a lot more...
Greetings, Bettina

1 comment

by rescuer 11 Feb 2013

ROFLMBO is rolling on the floor laughing my butt off. Some use a different word there instead of butt. ;)
Texting sure has changed the way we all communicate!
Hugs