Acronymns make our lives easier. We can save our breath and valuable seconds saying just a few letters instead of a few words. However, some of these acronyms aren’t really used properly.
RSS
This stands for Really Simple Syndication. However, in some places, the link to an RSS feed is called ‘RSS Syndication‘… Really Simply Syndication Syndication??
RSS can also be translated to ‘Rich Site Summary’ so the above example would be fine in that situation, but it’s usually Really Simply Syndication.
ATM
This stands for Automated Teller Machine. You know, the machines in the wall that give you money when you press a few buttons. A very common error is when people say ‘I’m just going to the ATM Machine‘… what they’re really saying is ‘I’m just going to the Automated Teller Machine Machine’.
PIN
This is probably something everybody says without even realising it… this stands for Personal Identification Number. What people then say is ‘I’ve forgotten my PIN Number‘, or, when you’re paying for something, ‘Check the amount and enter your PIN Number‘… unless you haven’t been paying attention to the other example, you’ll see that people are really saying ‘Personal Identification Number Number‘ here.
I’m sure there are more examples but these are the ones that came to me off the top of my head.