SWAT team, yes; PIN number, no

2 comments June 11th, 2008

Two special types of abbreviations are known as “initialisms” and “acronyms.” The difference: With an initialism, such as HIV, each letter is pronounced; an acronym, such as AIDS, is said as a word.

Other common initialisms include DNA, FBI, UFO and VCR. Initialisms and acronyms are popular because they usually are much easier to say than the terms they stand for. Do you prefer to say “DNA” or “deoxyribonucleic acid”? Of course, as with most things, they can be overdone.

One minor annoyance to watch out for: You need to remember what these abbreviations stand for to avoid redundancies. For example, don’t write “ATM machine,” because the “M” stands for “machine.”

Similar no-nos: “PIN number” (PIN stands for “personal identification number”) and “UPC code” (that’s Universal Product Code”).

One that doesn’t fall into this category is “SWAT team.” SWAT stands for “special weapons and tactics.”

That’s right: There is no “I” in “team,” and there is no “team” in “SWAT.”