three-letter acronym

(TLA) The canonical self-describing abbreviation for the name

of a species with which computing terminology is infested.

Examples include MCA, FTP, SNA, CPU, MMU, DMU,

FPU, TLA. For a complete list of the TLAs in this

dictionary, see TLAs.

Sometimes used by extension for any confusing acronym. People

who like this looser usage argue that not all TLAs have three

letters, just as not all four-letter words have four letters.

One also hears of "ETLA" (Extended Three-Letter Acronym) being

used to describe four-letter acronyms. The term "SFLA"

(Stupid Four-Letter Acronym) has also been reported.

See also YABA.

The self-effacing phrase "TDM TLA" (Too Damn Many...) is often

used to bemoan the plethora of TLAs in use. In 1989, a random

of the journalistic persuasion asked hacker Paul Boutin "What

do you think will be the biggest problem in computing in the

90s?" Paul's straight-faced response: "There are only 17,000

three-letter acronyms." (To be exact, there are 26^3 =

17,576.)

(1994-12-14)