This brief glossary is not intended to illuminate the meaning of every acronym or expression you might find online, here or elsewhere. It is simply an attempt to define those abbreviations and phrases most commonly used on this forum, particularly those that may be somewhat unique to us, or to writers in general. If you see an abbreviation, acronym, symbol, or phrase in a message and don't understand it, don't be shy - ask!
AFAIK - As far as I know
AFAIR - As far as I recall
ATD - Agree to disagree
<bg> - Big grin. You will also see <bs> for big smile.
Big, bigging - A “big” is a request to Diana Gabaldon for a snippet. The term has no meaning outside this forum.
DD, or Dearest Deadeye, letter - A reference to the letter from Frank to Brianna that Bree discovers in WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART'S BLOOD.
#DailyLines, or DL - Brief bits of Diana Gabaldon's current writing, posted on Facebook and/or Twitter under the tagline “#DailyLines”. There is a thread here for discussion of the #DailyLines from GO TELL THE BEES THAT I AM GONE, Book 9 in the OUTLANDER series.
DH - Dear husband. You will also see DS for dear son, DD for dear daughter, etc.
<eg> - Evil grin
<er> - Eye-roll. You will also see this as <rolling eyes>
ETA - Edited to add
FA - The “Final Argument” between Claire and Frank on the night he died, in VOYAGER.
FWIW - For what it's worth
Fuirich agus chi thu - Scots Gaelic for “wait and see”, an expression often used in Diana Gabaldon's section of the forum
FYI - For your information
<g> - Grin. This is the forum equivalent of
Gonk (noun) - Nickname for the Algonquin Round Table section of the forum.
Gonked (verb) - Forum slang for having your message moved to the Algonquin Round Table section of the forum, as in, “If you keep talking about (cats, or food, or some other off-topic subject) in this thread, you're probably going to get gonked.” Please note, this is NOT intended as a punishment, or as criticism of the content of your message! The Algonquin Round Table section is simply a place where we put discussions that don't fit anywhere else.
<g,d&r> - Grin, duck, and run
IANA - I am not a _ (lawyer, doctor, etc.)
IIRC - If I recall correctly
IMHO - In my humble opinion
IMO - In my opinion
IOW - In other words
J&C - Jamie and Claire
MC - Main character (in a story)
MS / MSS - Manuscript / Manuscripts
OTOH - On the other hand
OTT - Over the top
P-mail, or PM - Private message sent through the forum software. Visible only to the person who sent the message, and the person to whom it was sent.
PMFJI - Pardon me for jumping in. (PLEASE NOTE: Here on TheLitForum.com, we love it when new people jump into the discussions, so please don't feel as though you have to apologize for it.)
POV - Point of view. In storytelling, the person from whose perspective the story is told.
<s> - Smile
SFD - Sh!tty First Draft - the initial version of a work, in need of fairly drastic revision
SL - Section Leader (moderator)
Sysop - System Operator, aka administrator. An old-fashioned term for the person(s) in charge of an entire forum
Thread - A series of messages all falling under the same subject heading. Also called a discussion.
TBE - “The Big Event” - The very controversial subplot involving Claire and Lord John near the end of AN ECHO IN THE BONE.
TBR - To be read - that ever-increasing pile of books (paper or electronic) that we just had to buy in order to read someday
Tinfoil, or tinfoil hat - Slang term for wild or “way-out-there” theories or speculations. For more on the origin of this expression, look here.
TMI - Too much information
TPTB - The powers that be. The person or people who are in charge.
TT - Time-travel or time-traveler
TT headache - a headache caused by too much Deep Thinking about time-travel paradoxes, especially as they relate to Diana Gabaldon's books.
tyop - A forum-specific word for typo (typographical error). First usage was a typo. Gleefully adopted by members.
WAG - Wild Ass Guess. A rough estimate based on previous experience, not necessarily based on concrete facts.
Sharing thread - A monthly thread in the Craft of Writing folder where members discuss their writing struggles and triumphs, and post snippets of recent work, for informal feedback or just to share.
<wg> - Wide grin or wry grin
Work in progress, or WIP - an author's book or story, currently being written
WRT - With regard to
<ws> - Wry smile