Civilisation/Acronyms

From Quiz Revision Notes

A&P – Advertising and Promotion

A&R – Artists and Repertoire

AAIB – Air Accidents Investigation Branch

ABI – Association of British Insurers

ABS – Anti-lock braking system

ACARS – Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System

ACORN – A Classification of Residential Neighbourhoods

ACPO – Association of Chief Police Officers

ADHD – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

ADSL – Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line

ADSR – Attack-Decay-Sustain-Release, a term referring to the amplitude envelope used in some synthesizers

AEG – Advanced Engineering from Germany

AER – Annual Equivalent Rate

AFF – Advanced Fee Frauds (419 scams)

AGV – Automotrice a grande vitesse

AIFA – Association of Independent Financial Advisors

AIM – Air Interceptor Missile

AK47 – Automatic Kalashnikov, designed in 1947

ANC – African National Congress

ANPR – Automatic Number Plate Recognition

AOC – Appellation d’origine controlee

APEC – Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

AQAP – Al-Qa’eda in the Arabian Peninsula

ASDIC – Antisubmarine Detection Investigation Committee

ASIMO – Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility. Humanoid robot created by Honda

ASP – Active Server Pages

ATOC – Association of Train Operating Companies

ATOL – Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing scheme

ATM – Automated Teller Machine

ATS – Auxiliary Territorial Service

AUC – Ab urbe condita, refers to the founding of Rome in 753 BC

AV – Alternative Vote

B&Q – Block and Quayle

BADA – British Antique Dealers Association

BASE – Building, Antenna, Span, Earth

BBA – British Bankers Association

BBFC – British Board of Film Classification, originally British Board of Film Censors

BBPA – British Beer and Pub Association

BECTU – Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union

BIOT – British Indian Ocean Territory

BMI – Body Mass Index

BOAC – British Overseas Airways Corporation

BOBFOC – Body Off Baywatch, Face Off Crimewatch

BRC – British Retail Consortium

BRIC Alliance – Brazil, Russia, India and China

CABE – Commission for Architecture in the Built Environment

CAN – Christian Advertising Network

CAPTCHA – Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart

CAT – Computed Axial Tomography

CATV – Community Antenna Television (Cable TV)

CBT – Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

CC – Cubic Centimetres

CCCS – Consumer Credit Counseling Service

CCD – Colony Collapse Disorder

CCJ – County Court Judgment

CCS – Carbon Capture and Storage

ccTLD – Country Code Top-Level domain

CDC – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

CDO – Collateralized Debt Obligation

CDS – Credit Default Swaps

CE – Common Era. Non-religious substitute for AD

CERN – Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (European Council for Nuclear Research)

CFA – Communaute Financiee Africaine

CFD – Contract for Difference

CFE – Conventional Forces in Europe

CFL – Compact Fluorescent Lamp (or Light)

CFP – Common Fisheries Policy

CFS – Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

CGA – Colour Graphics Adapter

CGI – Computer-generated imagery

CGC – Conspicuous Gallantry Cross

CGS – Centimetre, Gram, Second

CIA – Central Intelligence Agency

CIF – Cost, Insurance and Freight

CMB – Cosmic Microwave Background radiation

CML – Council of Mortgage Lenders

CNN – Cable News Network

COBE – Cosmic Background Explorer

COBRA – Cabinet Office Briefing Room A

COI – Central Office of Information

COMAC – Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China

COMECON – Council for Mutual Economic Assistance

COSHH – Control of Substances Hazardous to Health

CPI – Consumer Prices Index

CPR – Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation

CPRE – Campaign to Protect Rural England (formerly Council for the Preservation of Rural England

CRB – Criminal Records Bureau

CSS – Cascading Style Sheets

CWU – Communications Workers Union

DAB – Digital Audio Broadcasting

DAR – Daughters of the American Revolution

DC – Douglas Commercial

DDA – Disability Discrimination Act

DEA – Drug Enforcement Administration

DFC – Distinguished Flying Cross

DFID – Department for International Development

DFS – Derbyshire Furniture Stores

DHL – Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn

DLS – Dynamic Label Segment

DMV – Deserted Medieval Village

DNB – Dictionary of National Biography

DORA – Defence of the Realm Act

DRO – Debt Relief Order

DSLR – Digital Single-Lens Reflex

DSN – Deep Space Network

DWP – Department for Work and Pensions

EAD – Elite Athlete with a Disability

EBITDA – Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization

ECB – Eurozone Central Bank

ECJ – European Court of Justice

ECU – European Currency Unit

EDM – Early Day Motion

EEAS – European External Action Service

EFSA – European Food Safety Authority

EFSF – European Financial Stability Facility

EGR – Exhaust Gas Recirculation

EHRC – Equality and Human Rights Commission

EIB – European Investment Bank

EKIA – Enemy Killed In Action

EMI – Electric and Musical Industries Ltd

EMI – Electromagnetic Interference

ENG – Electronic News Gathering

EPBM – Electroplated Britannia Metal

EPC – Energy Performance Certificate (part of a HIP)

EPCOT – Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow

ESA – Employment Support Allowance

ESOP – Employee Share Option Plan

ESPN – Entertainment and Sports Programming Network

ESTA – Electronic System for Travel Authorization

ETF – Exchange Traded Fund

ExCeL – Exhibition Centre London

FACT – Federation against Copyright Theft

FANY – First Aid Nursing Yeomanry

FARC – Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia

FAST – Facial drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulties and Time. Stroke detection

FDC – First Day Cover

FIDE – Federation Internationale des Echecs (Chess)

FINA – Federation Internationale de Natation (Swimming)

FITA – Federation Internationale de Tir a l'Arc (Archery)

FIV – Feline Immunodeficiency Virus

FLOP – Floating Point Operations per Second

FOBT – Fixed Odds Betting Terminals

FSC – Forestry Stewardship Council

FSCS – Financial Services Compensation Scheme

FTT – Financial Transactions Tax (Tobin tax)

GAA – Gaelic Athletic Association

GDA – Guideline Daily Amount

GIF – Graphics Interchange Format

GLAAD – Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation

GMO – Genetically Modified Organism

GPA – Grade Point Average

GPS – Global Positioning System

GSR – Galvanic Skin Response

gTLD – Generic top-level domain

HACCP – Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point

HAMC – Hells Angels Motorcycle Club

HBM – His Britannic Majesty

HDI – Human Development Index

HDMI – High Definition Media Interface

HDTV – High Definition Television

HEV – Hybrid Electric Vehicle

HFT – High Frequency Trading

HGH – Human Growth Hormone

HGP – Human Genome Project

HID – High Intensity Discharge

HIP – Home Information Pack

HIPC – Heavily Indebted Poor Country

HOLMES – Home Office Large Major Enquiry System

HPA – Health Protection Agency

HRBLB – Horse Race Betting Levy Board

HSC – Health and Safety Commission

HSR – High Speed Rail

IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency

IANA – Internet Assigned Numbers Authority

IAS – Immigration Advisory Service

IATA – International Air Transport Association

IBRD – International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

ICANN – Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

ICBN – International Code of Botanical Nomenclature

ICSTIS – Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of the Telephone Information Services

IEA – International Energy Agency

IED – Improvised Explosive Device

IFOCE – International Federation of Competitive Eating

IFS – Institute of Fiscal Studies

IHP – Indicated Horse Power

ILC – International Linear Collider

IMAX – Image MAXimum

IMEI – International Mobile Station Equipment Identity number. Unique number of a mobile phone

IPA – International Phonetic Alphabet

IPCC – Independent Police Complaints Commission

IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

IPPR – Institute for Public Policy Research

IPR – Intellectual Property Rights

IRBM – Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile

IRC – Internet Relay Chat

IRDA – International Reborn Doll Artists

IRGC – Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps

IRS – Internal Revenue Service

ISEQ – Irish Stock Exchange Quotation

ISRO – Indian Space Research Organization

ISS – International Space Station

ISSF – International Shooting Sport Federation

ITCZ – Inter-tropical Convergence Zone

ITER – International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor

IUPAC – International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry

IVA – Individual Voluntary Arrangement, for bankruptcy

IWAS – International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports

IWC – International Whaling Commission

IWF – Internet Watch Foundation

JET – Joint European Torus

JKLF – Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front

JPEG – Joint Photographic Experts Group

JSF – Joint Strike Fighter

K&M – Kaolin and Morphine

KIPPERS – Kids In Parents Pockets Eroding Retirement Savings

LAR – Lethal Autonomous Robots

LBO – Leveraged Buyout

LBT – Large Binocular Telescope

LBV – Late Bottled Vintage

LDV – Local Defence Volunteers (Home Guard)

LGBT – Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender

LIBOR – London Interbank Offered Rate

LIDAR – Light Detection and Ranging

LIGO – Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory

LLDC – London Legacy Development Corporation

LME – London Metal Exchange

LNG – Liquid Natural Gas

LSD – Librae, Solidi, Denarii

LTRO – Long Term Refinancing Operation

LTTE – Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

M&A – Mergers and Acquisitions

MADD – Mothers Against Drunk Driving

MDF – Medium Density Fibreboard

MEG – Magnetoencephalography

MERS – Middle East Respiratory Syndrome

MFI – Mullard Furniture Industries

MFN – Most Favoured Nation

MFP – Multi Function Printer

MHK – Member of the House of Keys

MHRA – Medicine and Healthcare Regulatory Authority

MI6 – Military Intelligence 6 (SIS)

MMA – Mixed Martial Arts

MMORPG – Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game

MOOC – Massive Open Online Course

MP3 – Moving Picture 3

MPAA – Motion Picture Association of America

MPEG – Moving Picture Experts Group

MRCA – Most Recent Common Ancestor

MRI – Magnetic Resonance Imaging

MSF – Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders)

MUA – Mail user agent

NAACP – National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People

NAPF – National Association of Pension Funds

NAS – Noise Abatement Society

NASCAR – National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing

NASDAQ – National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations

NATS – Naval Air Transport Service

NCAA – National Collegiate Athletic Association

NCCL – National Council for Civil Liberties

NSCA – National Society for Clean Air

NDPB – Non-Departmental Public Bodies. Replaced quangos

NEC – National Executive Committee (Labour party)

NEO – Near Earth Object

NICAM – Near Instantaneously Companded Audio Multiplex

NICE – National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Set up as the National Institute for Clinical Excellence

NIE – Newly Industrializing Economy

NIRS – Near Infrared Spectroscopy

NLP – Neuro-linguistic programming

NMR – Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

NOAA – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NORAD – North American Aerospace Defence Command

NPC – National Pensioners Convention

NPOV – Neutral Point of View, in Wikipedia

NPT – Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

NRA – National Rifle Association

NSA – National Security Agency

NSAID – Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug

NTSB – National Transportation Safety Board

OA – Olympic Airways

OAS – Organisation of American States

OAU – Organisation of African Unity

OBR – Office for Budget Responsibility

OFCOM – Office of Communications

OFGEM – Office of Gas and Electricity Markets

OFSTED – Office of Standards in Education

OEIC – Open Ended Investment Company

OG – Original Gravity

OIC – Organization of Islamic Conference

OP – Opposite Prompt

OPAS – Office of the Pensions Advisory Service

ORR – Office of Rail Regulation

OSB – Order of Saint Benedict

OSP – Off Street Parking

OSP – Obiit Sine Prole (died without issue)

PADI – Professional Association of Diving Instructors

PAT – Point after Touchdown

PCaW – Public Concern at Work

PCB – PolyChlorinated Biphenyls

PCC – Press Complaints Commission

PCS – Public and Commercial Services union

PCV – Passenger Carrying Vehicle

PDF – Portable Document Format

PDSA – People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals

PEBKAC – Problem Exists Between Keyboard and Chair

PEN – poets/playwrights, essayists/editors and novelists

PET-CT – Positron emission tomography–computed tomography

PETA – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

PFC – Private First Class, in US Army

PIR – Passive Infra Red

PLC – Programmable Logic Controller

PNG – Portable Network Graphic

POP – Point Of Presence

PPE – Personal Protection Equipment

PSNI – Police Service of Northern Ireland

PSP – Play Station Portable

PTSD – Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

PTWC – Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre

PTWS – Pacific Tsunami Warning System

PVS – Persistent Vegetative State

QAM – Quadrature Amplitude Modulation

QCA – Qualifications and Curriculum Authority

QMV – Qualified Majority Voting

QR – Quick Response code

QVC – Quality, Value, Convenience

RAIB – Rail Accident Investigation Board

RAL – Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

RAVC – Royal Army Veterinary Corps

RCA – Radio Corporation of America

RCM – Royal College of Midwives

RCMP – Royal Canadian Mounted Police

RCN – Royal College of Nursing

RFID – Radio-frequency identification

RHT – Reinforced Heel and Toe stocking

RIAA – Recording Industry Association of America

RIB – Rigid Inflatable Boat

RICE – Rest, ice, compression, elevation

RIP – Requiescat in Pace (Rest in Peace)

RIPA – Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act

RKO – Radio-Keith-Orpheum Pictures

RON – Research Octane Number

RPG – Rocket Propelled Grenade

RPI – Retail Prices Index

RRR – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

RSJ – Rolled Steel Joist

RSPP – Royal Society of Portrait Painters

RSMA – Royal Society of Maritime Arts

RSS – Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary

RSWT – Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts

RSV – Revised Standard Version of the Bible

RTB – Right To Buy

S2P – State Second Pension

SAA – South Atlantic Anomaly

SANE – Scanner Access Now Easy

SAR – Special Administrative Region

SATs – Standard Assessment Tasks

SCART – Syndicat des Constructeurs d'Appareils Radiorécepteurs et Téléviseurs, Radio and Television Receiver Manufacturers' Association

SCOTUS – Supreme Court of the United States

SDA – Severe Disability Allowance

SEAL – Sea, Air, Land Teams

SETI – Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence

SIDS – Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

SIPP – Self-Invested Personal Pension

SIS – Secret Intelligence Service

SIV – Structured Investment Vehicle

SMOM – Sovereign Military Order of Malta

SMS – Short Message Service

SNGMA – Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

SOAS – School of Oriental and African Studies

SOCO – Scene of Crime Officer

SOES – Small Order Execution System

SOLT – Society of London Theatre

SONAR – Sound Navigation and Ranging

SOSUS – Sound Surveillance System

SPAB – Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings

SPECTRE – Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion

SPQR – Senatus Populusque Romanus (For the senate and the people of Rome)

SPR – Strategic Petroleum Reserve

SQUID – Superconducting Quantum Interference Device

SRS – Supplemental Restraint System

SRS – Single Room Subsidy

START – Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty

STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

STV – Single Transferable Vote

SUA – Sudden Unintended Acceleration

SWAT – Special Weapons and Tactics

SWF – Sovereign Wealth Fund

TAR – Tibetan Autonomous Region

Taser – Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle

TASS – Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union

TCAS – Traffic Collision Avoidance System

TDK – Tokyo Denkikagaku Kogyo (Tokyo Electronics and Chemicals)

TfL – Transport for London

TFT – Thin Filmed Transistor

THRUSH – Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the

Subjugation of Humanity

TLR – Twin Lens Reflex

TMO – Television Match Official

TMS – Test Match Special

TSS – Toxic Shock Syndrome

TTL – Through the lens

TVP – Textured Vegetable Protein

TWOC – Taken Without Owner’s Consent

U5MR – Under Five Mortality Rate

UAV – Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

UBR – Uniform Business Rate

UCAS – Universities and Colleges Admissions Service

UCATT – Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians

UCAV – Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle

UCE – Unsolicited Commercial Email

UCLA – University of California Los Angles

UDI – Unilateral Declaration of Independence

UKAEA – United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority

UKBA – United Kingdom Border Agency

UNCLE – United Network Command for Law and Enforcement

UNCTAD – United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

UNEP – United Nations Environment Programme

UNFCCC – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

UNITA – National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (Portuguese: União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola)

UPI – United Press International

USAID – United States Agency for International Development

USAN – Union of South American Nations

UTC – University Technical College

VED – Vehicle Excise Duty

VHS – Video Home System

(U)VLCC – (Ultra) Very Large Crude Carrier

VGA – Video Graphics Array

VSOP – Very Special (or Superior) Old Pale

WADA – World Anti Doping Agency

WAP – Wireless Application Protocol

WAVES – Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service

WEEE – Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment

WFP – World Food Programme

WGA – Writer’s Guild of America

WGMS – World Glacier Monitoring Service

WIMAX – Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access

WIPO – World Intellectual Property Organisation

WOMAD – World of Music, Arts and Dance

WOMBAT – Waste of Money, Brains and Time

WRAP – Waste and Resources Action Programme

WSSD – World Summit on Sustainable Development

WWF – World Wide Fund for Nature

ZANU-PF – Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front

ZEV – Zero Emission Vehicle

ZIP – Zone Improvement Plan