In the term “Subject Matter Expert” (SME), what does the qualifier “Subject Matter” mean? Are there experts without subject matter (other than perhaps Irwin Corey, the “World’s Foremost Authority”) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subject-matter_expert Answer But I totally see his point All experts are only expert in their subject matter. it is kind of understood, and implied. So it … Read more
I have seen in a number of places, such as this answer, that the usage of a or an in front of an acronym is dependent on the common pronunciation of that acronym. I am confused for the following reasons: It is very possible that a certain acronym will be differently pronounced in two cases … Read more
Is there a rule on acronyms and initialisms being spelled out with the first letter of each word being uppercase or lowercase? Example: interim final rule (IFR) Interim Final Rule (IFR) Answer The Chicago Manual of Style, sixteenth edition (2010) briefly addresses the question of whether the spelled-out form of an initialism or acronym should … Read more
The acronym “SP” is first written in the document as: “contained in widely used or long-standing special permits (SP).” Next it appears in the singular: “eliminate the need for numerous SP renewal requests.” Later it appears again in the plural form as: “submitted by the regulated community related to certain SPs and…” Is this the … Read more
It appears that when U.S. Government agencies type “U.S.”, they do not enter a space between the U. and the S. Is this used elsewhere on acronyms? Why or why not? Answer At one point in time it was common to see acronyms written with spaces (see for example “P. P.”, which stands for “parish … Read more
When building an acronym, there are occasionally small words that can “slip through the cracks”. For example, U.S.A actually stands for United States of America. NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The word ‘the’ is another one that is left out here and there. Is there a definitive list of words that are … Read more
I have been seeing the following post making the rounds on social media today: How old were you when you learned that the game TAG stands for "Touch and Go"? I was today years old… Now even at first glance this raised my eyebrow. So I did some quick research and nothing is said on … Read more
In database technology there is a standard called “Structured Query Language”, which is abbreviated as SQL. However, some people pronounce SQL as “SeQueL”. If SQL is an “abbreviation” or “acronym” – what could “SeQueL” be called. Ie. what is a word called that is an invented way to pronounce an abbreviation? Answer It’s called a … Read more
The Free Dictionary tells me that UCHI is the acronym for The University of Chicago. But if that were the case, shouldn’t it be TUOC? I visited the official university website and it says said Our official full name: The University of Chicago Wherever possible we prefer to use the full name of the University: … Read more
I am writing my PhD thesis, and I want to use the acronym “DOM” referring to “Domain Optimization Method”, as I use a lot that expression throughout the document. At the moment of defining it (i.e. the first time I use it), I write something like: “…solved by using a Domian Optimization Method (DOM)…” My … Read more
