Word of the day: backronym
The word ‘backronym’ is a combination of backward and acronym and has been defined as a “reverse acronym”. A backronym is a phrase constructed purposely, such that an acronym can be formed to a specific desired word.
One of my favourites comes from the James Bond books and films: the organisation SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion or SPECTRE.
For more information on backronyms, see here.
March 9th, 2012 at 9:53 am
A backronym I like comes from the banter between different branches of the armed forces. Members of the Royal Navy are likely to refer to the selection criteria to be a Marine as “Muscles Are Required, Intelligence Not Essential”! I don’t know how the Marines reciprocate, though.