15 March 2013

backronym

noun

[portmanteau of back + acronym]

Whereas an acronym is created from a the letters of a phrase, a backronym is a reverse acronym, in that a phrase is created to fit the letters of an acronym. For example, MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), COLBERT (Combined Operational Load-Bearing External Resistance Treadmill – this was created by NASA in recognition of comedian Stephen Colbert’s attempts to have a space module named after him).

Today’s aphorism

Don’t let it end like this. Tell them I said something.

– Pancho Villa, Mexican revolutionary

On this day

15 March 1916 – President Woodrow Wilson sends thousands of troops into Mexico to capture the Mexican revolutionary, Pancho Villa.