It seems every day there is a new acronym. It has become part of daily life. Our daily communication is filled with new words that started as initials representing a series of words.

The formal definition:
An acronym is an abbreviation of several words in such a way that the abbreviation itself forms a word.

Frequently, acronyms are formed that use existing words (and sometimes the acronym is invented first and the phrase name represented is designed to fit the acronym). Here are some examples of acronyms that use existing words:

BASIC....Beginner's All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code
NOW......National Organization for Women
WHO......World Health Organization

Abbreviations that use the first letter of each word in a phrase are sometimes referred to as initialisms. Initialisms can be but are not always acronyms. AT&T, BT, CBS, CNN, IBM, and NBC are initialisms that are not acronyms. Many acronym lists you'll see are really lists of acronyms and initialisms or just lists of abbreviations. (Note that abbreviations include shortened words like "esp" for "especially" as well as shortened phrases.)

Summing up:

An abbreviation is a shortening of a word or a phrase.
An acronym is an abbreviation that forms a word.
An initialism is an abbreviation that uses the first letter of each word in the phrase (thus, some but not all initialisms are acronyms). BFF, BRB, LOL

Today texting, instant messaging is filled with acronyms and initialisms. Every industry has them too. I am trying to keep up.

Although acronyms are definitely making me crazy there is one that makes me smile to overflowing. Many years ago my son Tom gave me a doll called FROYD which I love. This yellow guy with the great big nose makes me smile everyday when I look at him sitting prominently on the bookshelf opposite my bed. FROYD is an acronym For Reality Of Your Dreams. He sports an orange button that says "I believe in you."

I guess that just goes to prove that although trying to keep track and understand all the acronyms and initialisms that are used each day, they are very useful and in some cases provide a source of daily smiles.