Resistance to irksome abbreviations has proved futile so let’s enjoy the best of them, says the Financial Times' Pilita Clark.
The word is"abkürzungsfimmel" and it makes sense in a language with words of such dire length that they look as if they’ve been typed on a keyboard with no space bar.
It helps to remember that abbreviations date back to at least the time of Cicero, when ancient Romans shortened Senatus PopulusQue Romanus - the senate and people of Rome - to simple SPQR. The list’s P-words alone included PRI ; PPA ; and PPP, which means purchasing power parity and, confusingly, public-private partnerships.
The top-ranked contender so far this year is: “CSI names FIS veteran Linda Fischer COO, appoints new CRO, CPO and SVPs”. But competition is tough, especially since the rise of crypto. A writer on the FT’s Lex column once memorably used the acronym PIGS to describe the economic woes of Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain, in an item headlined Pigs In Muck.
Back when I worked in Washington, more than 20 years ago, members of Congress tended to introduce Bills with the dull, sober titles you see in legislatures around the world.
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