DYK Online Lingo?

Learn the Lingo that Kids and Adults are Using to Text Message

If your kid uses email, chat, or forums you've likely seen them communicate in what may seem to be a secret foreign language of symbols and acronyms. These symbols, known as emoticons, and acronyms let them express emotion and ideas in chat messages without having to type entire words or phrases.

The list collated below is by no means exhaustive, but is designed to help you join in the fun as well as help you decode your child's chat messages to ensure they're safe online! It will also help you communicate with them in their own language :-).

Acronyms
Used mostly in text messaging and instant messaging.

404	I haven't a clue	GTSY	Glad to see you	POTS	Plain old telephone service
ADN	Any day now	H&K	Hug and kiss	PU	That stinks!
AFAIK	As far as I know	HAGN	Have a good night	QT	Cutie
AFK	Away from keyboard	HAND	Have a nice day	ROFL	Rolling on floor laughing
ASAP	As soon as possible	HHIS	Hanging head in shame	RPG	Role-playing games
A/S/L?	Age/sex/location?	HIG	How's it going	RSN	Real soon now
B4N	Bye for now	HT	Hi there	RT	Real time
BAK	Back at the keyboard	HTH	Hope this helps	S^	S'up - what's up
BBIAB	Be back in a bit	IC	I see	SETE	Smiling ear to ear
BBL	Be back later	IHU	I hear you	SF	Surfer-friendly
BBN	Bye bye now	ILU or ILY	I love you	SHID	Slaps head in disgust
BBS	Be back soon	IM	Immediate message	SO	Significant other
BF	Boyfriend	IMS	I am sorry	SOL	Smiling out loud
BFN	Bye for now	IOW	In other words	SOMY	Sick of me yet?
BG	Big grin	IPN	I'm posting naked	SOT	Short on time
BL	Belly laughing	ITIGBS	I think I'm going to be sick	SOTMG	Short on time must go
BMGWL	Busting my gut with laughter	IWALU	I will always love you	STW	Search the Web
BRB	Be right back	IYSWIM	If you see what I mean	SU	Shut up
BTDT	Been there, done that	J4G	Just for grins	SUAKM	Shut up and kiss me
BTW	By the way	JIC	Just in case	SUP	What's up
BWL	Bursting with laughter	JK	Just kidding	SWAK	Sealed with a kiss
BWTHDIK	But what the heck do I know...?	JTLYK	Just to let you know	SWL	Screaming with laughter
C&G	Chuckle and grin	KISS	Keep it simple stupid	SYS	See you soon
CNP	Continued in next post	KIT	Keep in touch	TA	Thanks again
CRB	Come right back	KOTC	Kiss on the cheek	TAFN	That's all for now
CRBT	Crying real big tears	KOTL	Kiss on the lips	TANSTAAFL	There ain't no such thing as a free lunch
CU	See you	KWIM?	Know what I mean?	TCOY	Take care of yourself
CUL	See you later	L8R	Later	TGIF	Thank God it's Friday
CUL8ER	See you later	L8R G8R	Later gator	THX	Thanks
CYA	See ya	LD	Later, dude	TIA	Thanks in advance
CYO	See you online	LDR	Long-distance relationship	TILII	Tell it like it is
DL	Dead link	LHO	Laughing head off	TLK2UL8R	Talk to you later
DLTBBB	Don't let the bed bugs bite	LMSO	Laughing my socks off	TMI	Too much information
DIKU	Do I know you?	LOL	Laughing out loud	TNT	Till next time
DITYID	Did I tell you I'm distressed?	LSHMBH	Laughing so hard my belly hurts	TOPCA	Til our paths cross again (early Celtic chat term)
DOM	Dirty old man	LTM	Laugh to myself	TOY	Thinking of you
DOS	Dozing off soon	LTNS	Long time no see	TPTB	The powers that be
DQMOT	Don't quote me on this	LTR	Long-term relationship	TTFN	Ta-Ta for now
DTRT	Do the right thing	LULAB	Love you like a brother	TTT	Thought that, too
DWB	Don't write back	LULAS	Love you like a sister	TTYL	Talk to you later
EG	Evil grin	LUWAMH	Love you with all my heart	TU	Thank you
EMFBI	Excuse me for butting in	LY	Love ya	TY	Thank you
EMSG	E-mail message	LY4E	Love ya forever	UW	You're welcome
EOM	End of message	MorF	Male or female	VBG	Very big grin
F2F	Face to face	MOSS	Member of the same sex	WAYD	What are you doing
FAQ	Frequently-ask question(s)	MOTOS	Member of the opposite sex	WB	Welcome back
FC	Fingers crossed	MTF	More to follow	WBS	Write back soon
FISH	First in, still here	MUSM	Miss you so much	WEG	Wicked evil grin
FMTYEWTK	Far more than you ever wanted to know	NADT	Not a darn thing	WFM	Works for me
FOMCL	Falling off my chair laughing	NIFOC	Naked in front of computer	WIBNI	Wouldn't it be nice if
FTBOMH	From the bottom of my heart	NP or N/P	No problem	WT?	What/who the ?
FUD	Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt	NRN	No response necessary	WTG	Way to go!
FWIW	For what it's worth	OIC	Oh, I see	WTGP?	Want to go private?
FYI	For your information	OLL	Online love	WU?	What's up?
G Grin GA	Go ahead	OMG	Oh my God	WUF?	Where are you from?
GAL	Get a life	OTOH	On the other hand	WYSIWYG	What you see is what you get
GD&R	Grinning, ducking, and running	OTTOMH	Off the top of my head	YBS	You'll be sorry
GF	Girlfriend	PANS	Pretty awesome new stuff	YW	You're welcome
GFN	Gone for now	PAW	Parents are watching
GIWIST	Gee, I wish I'd said that	PDA	Public display of affection
GL	Good luck	PM	Private message
GMAB	Give me a break	PMFJIB	Pardon me for jumping in but...
GMTA	Great minds think alike	POAHF	Put on a happy face
GOL	Giggling out loud	::POOF::	Goodbye (leaving the room)
GTRM	Going to read mail	POS	Parent over shoulder

Emoticons
Used mostly in e-mails and instant messaging.

@>--,---		A rose
:-()		Big mouth (User has rambled on)
:-(		Frowning
(( )):**		Hugs and kisses
*<:-)(		I'm Santa Claus
:-D		Laughing
:-*		Puckering for a kiss
:**:		Returning kiss
:-o		Shouting
:)		Smiling
:-)		Smiling, with a nose
1^o		Snoring
>:-(		Upset or annoyed
:-ss		User drools
:-{		User has a moustache
%-)		User has been staring at a green screen for 15 hrs
:'-(		User is crying
:-@		User is screaming
:'-)		User is so happy s/he is crying
:-7		User just made a wry statement
:-x		User's lips are sealed
{(:-)		Wearing a toupee
B-)		Wearing cool shades
8-)		Wearing glasses
;-)		Winking