WLA (women love abbreviations)

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at West Chester chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

We as a society are pretty much known to always take the shortcut. If there is a way to do something quicker and with less effort, you already know we have eight different ways mapped out and have already weighed the pros and cons of taking each path. We run red lights just to get caught at the next one, cut through yards to class so we can sleep an extra 3 minutes, and we shorten words when we speak to get through our sentences quicker. In texting, we abbreviate. I personally have caught myself abbreviating so much via text that I didn’t actually spell out a single word. But sometimes it is just more efficient! 

Last year, when abbreviating became almost too common, my friends and I would shorten everything. It got to the point where we’d shorten whole sentences into a string of letters. And this wasn’t just over text. We’d speak the abbreviated sentences as acronyms and play a constant twisted game of “guess what I am trying to say”. And not only that, but we’d understand each other. It was our thing. And we thought it was hysterical. Let’s just say everyone probably hated the seven of us. 

Fortunately, that era ended, for the most part, with the school year, but some iconic abbreviations carried over with us into this year. We still shorten sentences from time to time or use one letter in place of random words, but this group of core abbreviations is honestly an excellent indicator of us and our sense of humor. They are our fantastic four, ones we’ll probably never stop using, so everyone may just have to get used to them. 

1.     P

Starting off strong with P for porch. I know, we abbreviated an already one-syllable word. I know. But honestly, it makes the porch that much more special. And the porch deserves a nickname. We even have a handmade sign of the letter P hanging on said porch.

Used in a sentence: 

“This Phillies game is getting a bit rowdy, I think I’ll write this paper on the P.”

“Care to join me for a drink on the P?”

2.     CNI

Another favorite of ours: CNI for cozy night in. As softball players, we aren’t able to do much on weekends during the season other than play softball. And even when we are allowed to hit the town, we are often too tired to. So instead, we do a cozy night in! These vary, but sometimes we will watch movies, play games, do karaoke, or sometimes there is a new show or a game on tv to watch. But most times, we just bring snacks and a glass of wine if we can, cuddle onto the couch, and hang out with each other. CNIs are usually planned weeks in advance, including the activity of the night, and are highly anticipated and impatiently waited for. They are honestly what gets us through the crazy softball season. 

Used in a sentence:

“It is supposed to rain after the game on Saturday, so I say we CNI”. (used as a verb)

“We are watching Wicked this weekend, but what should we do for our CNI next weekend?” (used as a noun)

3.     SNO

Similar to CNI, our third iconic abbreviation is SNO, for Saturday night out. A SNO for us is a rare occurrence. It’s mystical and magical. When we have the chance for an SNO, it’s a huge deal. Dreams really do come true on a SNO. We sometimes wait weeks for one.  Not to say we don’t love a CNI (cozy night in), but sometimes a girl just needs to let her hair down and dance with her girls. 

Used in a sentence:

“I can’t believe we get to SNO this weekend.” (used as a verb)

“We haven’t had a SNO since February. It’s April.” (used as a noun)

4.     TW_

Last but not least, we have TW. Everyone already knows this one, as “Trigger Warning” is a common phrase and abbreviation, but it deserves a spot in our core 4, as it is the one we use the most, possibly more than “P” (porch). The spin we put on this common abbreviation is the letter that follows it: the initial of the person in need of a trigger warning. We use TW to reference a person for many different reasons. We may just dislike this person. They may be coming our way, and one of us needs a warning. This person’s name could really trigger rage in one of us. This person simply may not deserve a mention. Whatever the reason, we’ve collected a series of TWs. 

Used in a sentence:

“Heads up, TWS coming this way.”

“Unless you want me to crash out, don’t mention TWS.”