It’s odd when you stop to think about it that everyone who graduates from college is a bachelor of something.
On this week’s edition of “That’s What They Say,” host Rina Miller and Professor of English at the University of Michigan Anne Curzan discuss opaque abbreviations, and often forgotten acronyms.
“The B in BA stands for bachelor, and it’s the same word we use to refer to an unmarried man,” says Curzan.
“The word [bachelor] goes back to the 13th century in English. It used to refer to a knight, a young man, and could refer to a young man who had achieved the lowest rank of something. From there it’s come to mean someone who has achieved the lowest rank from university, the lowest degree.”
Of course back then those would have been all men, but now we have lots of women who are Bachelors of Arts, or Bachelors of Science.
Then there’s the abbreviations i.e. and e.g. that many people mix up. The latter, exempli gratia (e.g.) means “for example.” And, id est (i.e.) means “that is” as in "that is to say." Thanks to us you will never mix those two up again.
Let’s turn now to acronyms once learned and quickly forgotten. LASER is the acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. And, RADAR stands for Radio Detection and Ranging.
Finally, here’s an acronym you will want to talk about this week with friends, and that's SNAFU, which stands for Situation Normal All F’d Up.
Thanks for joining us for another enlightening edition of “That’s What They Say.”
