Tbh: To Be Honest, the Meaning is Perfectly Clear - Merriam ...

Tbh, fwiw, imo, btw, afaik, afaic: OMG, what do they all mean? Informal written communication is littered with abbreviations that to the uninitiated can be ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut WordsWe'reWatching Tbh:ToBeHonest,theMeaningisPerfectlyClear Tbh,fwiw,imo,btw,afaik,afaic:OMG,whatdotheyallmean? Informalwrittencommunicationislitteredwithabbreviationsthattotheuninitiatedcanbecompletelyopaque.Buttheseabbreviationssaysomuchsoquicklythatoncetheinitiationhasoccurredthepathtoadoptionishinderedonlybywhateverdegreeofdisdainonemightfeelforsuchexpediencies.Theabbreviationsare,tbh(er,thatis,"tobehonest"),soveryusefulthatitcanbedifficulttodecidetoeschewthemjustbecausetheylackacertainelegance.Eventhebestwritersusetheminformally,fwiw(uh,"forwhatit'sworth"). Though'tbh'("tobehonest")iswellestablishedininformalcommunication,itappearslessfrequentlyinpublished,editedtext.That'swhyitisn'tinthedictionary. Theproblem,ofcourse,iswhenone'sreaderisamongthoseunfortunateuninitiated.Ifthewielderoftheopaqueabbreviationsdoesn'tknow(ordoesn'tcare)aboutthereader'suninitiatedstatus,thereaderhastoeitherguessatthemeaningorwanderawaytodiscoverit.Notatalldesirable,imo("inmyopinion").(Note:Ifwewantedtoexpresseitheranamountofdiffidenceoraflat-outrejectionofdiffidence,we'duseimhoorimnsho:"inmyhumbleopinion"or"inmynotsohumbleopinion,"respectively.) Btw(that's"bytheway"),abbreviationslikethesearenotanewphenomenon.WehaveevidenceofOMG("ohmyGod")datingto1917,andFYI("foryourinformation")datestoatleastasearlyasthe1940s.Butitiscertainlytruethatcomputers(includingtheonesthatarethephonesinourpockets)haveledtothecreationanddisseminationofscadsofnewones.Afaik("asfarasIknow"),mostoftheotherabbreviationsmentionedsofardateatleasttotheearlydaysofUsenet,whichbeganinthe1980s. Andyet,mostoftheseabbreviationshaveyettobeenteredintoourdictionaries.Whyisthat,youmightask?Well,lexicographersencountertheseabbreviationsinthesamewayeveryoneelsedoes—thatis,ininformalwrittencommunication,andnot,asarule,intheusualenvironsofgooddictionarycandidates(i.e.,published,editedtextlikenewspapers,magazines,andbooks).Toqualifyforentry,abbreviationsmustdemonstratewhatanydefiniendumdemonstrates:evidenceofanestablishedmeaninginsustained,widespreaduse.Thatevidenceissimplyhardertocollectwhenit'sconcentratedinthetextssentbetweenyouandyourBFF. That'snottheonlyplacetheyexist,though,andafaic("asfarasI'mconcerned"),thesearecandidatesworthyofconsideration. WordsWe'reWatchingtalksaboutwordsweareincreasinglyseeinginusebutthathavenotyetmetourcriteriaforentry. Share MoreWordsAtPlay Merriam-Webster'sWordsoftheWeek-Oct.29 Fromtheweekending10/29/2021 Isit'Forty'?Or'Fourty'? Thisisusage 'Everyday'vs.'EveryDay' Asimpletricktokeepthemseparate TimeTraveler Checkoutwordsfromtheyearyouwerebornandmore! TRENDINGNOW meta Facebookannouncesnewname mandate Bidenrollsoutvaccinationeffort excelsior Cuomoresigns SEEALL SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! Merriam-Websterunabridged AsktheEditors 'Everyday'vs.'EveryDay' Asimpletricktokeepthemseparate WhatIs'SemanticBleaching'? How'literally'canmean"figuratively" Literally Howtouseawordthat(literally)drivessomepe... IsSingular'They'aBetterChoice? Theawkwardcaseof'hisorher' WordGames ConfusingWordsStrikesAgain Howmanydoyouknow? Takethequiz NameThoseHerbsandSpices Howmanydoyouknow? Takethequiz SpellIt Canyouspellthese10commonlymisspelledwords? Takethequiz