Editing 2759: Easily Confused Acronyms
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In this comic, [[Randall]] compared the acronym "laser" with various other five-letter acronyms. | In this comic, [[Randall]] compared the acronym "laser" with various other five-letter acronyms. | ||
β | He first explained "laser" correctly. Then "maser", which is a type of laser and changes only one word in the acronym, he also explains correctly. Although in both cases he includes the definite article into the expanded phrase ("by the", instead of just the more usual "by"), to the same ultimate meaning and with short words that are traditionally not so often used in the initialisms (like "of" is not, here, also) and thus allows them to be more | + | He first explained "laser" correctly. Then "maser", which is a type of laser and changes only one word in the acronym, he also explains correctly. Although in both cases he includes the definite article into the expanded phrase ("by the", instead of just the more usual "by"), to the same ultimate meaning and with short words that are traditionally not so often used in the initialisms (like "of" is not, here, also) and thus allows them to be more pronouncable acronyms that have become words in their own right rather than more awkward initialisms. |
He then makes the following three entries, and the further actual word from the title text, follow precisely the same pattern by simply taking the full phrase for "laser"/"maser" and changing the first word, as appropriate, and the initial letter of any other words that need to change to fit. The replacement first word is correct for these acronyms, but the other words formed from changing the first letter are nonsense. | He then makes the following three entries, and the further actual word from the title text, follow precisely the same pattern by simply taking the full phrase for "laser"/"maser" and changing the first word, as appropriate, and the initial letter of any other words that need to change to fit. The replacement first word is correct for these acronyms, but the other words formed from changing the first letter are nonsense. |