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Ah but that would all depend on the definition of the word "word".

As if they haven't already. Are you really so arrogant to assume that nobody else can figure out for themselves the real facts? Wait, don't answer that; I wouldn't want you to self-incriminate any further.



Ooo! Great, so you've gone from vacuous rebuttal to meaningless statistics. How... droll. I can't really say it was "disappointing", since I didn't have high expectations to begin with. Well, other than finding amusement, that is.

Even still, I think it is particularly amusing that you found ELEVEN THOUSAND references. If the statistics weren't so meaningless to begin with, I'd thank you for the demonstration of the significance!

Actually, I gave that, too.

Leisurely gets IBTL VV

So hands up anyone here who honestly thinks that TANSTAAFL is actually a "word"?

Pep (Or how about IBM?)

The remark about the double negative reminds me of ... oh, I have to make it in before the lock ... so I'll hurry the story ...

anyway, one philosopher was speaking about the double negative, and pointed out that there is no language in which a double positive implied a negative...

is the lock in yet?

so, anyway, Sydney Morgenbesser replied, "Yeah, yeah," in a dismissive tone...

It often appears that I'm the last one to post in threads so will this be the last...

IBTL?

You're right; everyone here pronounces it "Tee-Aay-Enn-Ess-Tee-Aay-Aay-Eff-Ell".

Only idiots would read it "Tan-Staff-el".

(or "Ib-em"

We do pronounce some acronyms as words, such as NASA, NATO, DOS, SCUBA, RADAR, ...

They don't seem to have many underage furry gorean blingtard bloodlines transsexual adfarming landbots who wear Darth Vader masks while riding penis hoverbikes there.

I would be so lonely... How would I ever find my perfect soulmate???

IBTL

You can pronounce it any way you like, but it doesn't make it a word.

To summarise. It isn't TINSTAAFL, it's TANSTAAFL; neither one is actually a word, and therefore can't be an acronym. End of . . .

Pep ("Ib-em"? ROFLMAO)

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acronym

Intrestingly, they use the examples, "NATO, radar, or laser." It would appear that the word formed doesn't have to, itself, be in the dictionary - but rather just needs to be pronounceable, or perhaps I should say, commonly pronounced.

So TANSTAAFL would appear qualify, but IBM and FBI wouldn't. That is, TANSTAAFL is an acronym, but IBM is an initialism.

I would love to see the OED definition, if somebody would care to quote it here.

Oops. Forgot to put the closing </sarcasm> tag on that. Thanks for the catch!

OK, we'll expect that, in "Pep's dictionary", it won't be found as an acronym or a word. Gotcha.

Thank goodness that one isn't in wide circulation, if indeed in circulation at all outside of your wonderful presentations.



To summarize, you can use whatever the effin' hell you like, and I'll use whatever I like. They aren't simply words; they're called ACRONYMS. Learn the difference.

Yay! My first IBTL!

Happy New Year to you all!

So does this mean ATM is not actually a word because it is not prononced at-m?

and it is not an acronym becuase it is not a word?

I never realised acronyms also had to be words.


The Rocket (Counting down to lift off)

Not many people do - nor ignorant dragons.

And for the record (as requested) the OED says:

acronym

/akrnim/

• noun a word formed from the initial letters of other words (e.g. laser, Aids).

— ORIGIN from Greek akron ‘end, tip’ + onoma ‘name’.

And further for the record, the OED, nor any other substantive dictionary, fails to recognise TANSTAAFL as a "word", whereas it does recognise laser, aids, and various other correctly identified acronyms.

Pep (OED and QED)

Nor stupid forum trolls.



Yep, same definition quoted previously from another dictionary.



No dictionary is required to catalog all possible acronyms, nor even popular ones, simply because they are "coined" words. You won't find YABA, and probably won't find FUBAR, or even SNAFU, in the OED, even though they are also valid acronyms, by (yes, even your precious OED's) definition.

The lack of an acronym in any particular dictionary does not make it any less an acronym, as long as it fits the orthogonal definition. Just to recap, that it is a WORD, which means it is a series of SOUNDS that conveys a MEANING, formed from the first letters of a series of other words.

Hell, even in Heinlein's works, your apparent favourite reference which started this idiocy, it is used as a word, hence:

"You sound like your late father. I think he invented tanstaafl." -- Friday, Robert Heinlein



QED, indeed!

Stop that! You're using logic to decimate Pep's argument!

It's like hunting over a baited field.... it just isn't fair!

In fact, I am reminded of this exchange from "Liar Liar":

Fletcher: Your honor, I object!
Judge: Why?
Fletcher: Because it's devastating to my case!
Judge: Overruled.
Fletcher: Good call!

Guess Pep forgets they also trim words from the OED...

Yep words are added and removed with every edition, so there are plenty of words that are not in there (either never added, or were removed)

And the word has been in use for a long time, and is not in the book. But that does not change the fact it is a word.

Yiff, to give an example is a word. And does not show up in there.

Slang and other vulgar language is rarely added to the dictionaries by the writers, due to many reasons including space.

So are many of the more legit but narrow use words (some of the very technical or scientific words are not defined) for the same reasons.

Who cares!

So you are now arguing that any sequence of letters (which of course can be pronounced) represents a "word"? How logical!

Pep (In that case: tcfcdwikclj - it must be a "word"; I just coined it)

considering the number of so called nonsense words in use by the public at large, any sequence of letters that is used to represent something is in effect a word.

people coin new words everyday, some are forgotten due to lack of being needed or use.

Others catch on and become part of the language.

And the one in question you are having problems with has been with us ever since it was published in the moon is a harsh mistress.

I'm off to bed now, and thanks for the entertainment on a slow day on TV here, but I will leave you with something to think about.

If TANSTAAFL (not the incorrect TINSTAAFL, which appears to have been conveniently forgotten) is a word, what part of speech is it?

Pep (Don't let it worry you too much; it isn't a word, but an initialism, and therefore can't be an acronym)

actually... drum roll an initialism is a word.