Definitions by mixlab
backronym
A word that was not originally an acronym, but has been deliberately assigned a new, or retrofitted meaning for each of its letters after the fact. This is usually done to make a project, law, or product sound official, clever, or memorable.
Person A: Wait, so you're telling me the S.O.S. distress signal doesn't actually stand for "Save Our Souls" or "Save Our Ship"?
Person B: Nope. It was chosen in 1905 just because it was easy to type in Morse code (three dots, three dashes, three dots). "Save Our Souls" is just a classic backronym people made up later.
Person A: Mind blown. Next you're gonna tell me the medical APGAR score for newborn babies isn't a real acronym either.
Person B: Exactly! The health test was just named after the doctor who invented it, Dr. Virginia Apgar. Ten years later, people forced "Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respiration" onto her last name to turn it into a mnemonic device.
Person B: Nope. It was chosen in 1905 just because it was easy to type in Morse code (three dots, three dashes, three dots). "Save Our Souls" is just a classic backronym people made up later.
Person A: Mind blown. Next you're gonna tell me the medical APGAR score for newborn babies isn't a real acronym either.
Person B: Exactly! The health test was just named after the doctor who invented it, Dr. Virginia Apgar. Ten years later, people forced "Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respiration" onto her last name to turn it into a mnemonic device.