Just as it is in the United States, Great Britain is home to all manner of abbreviations and acronyms. Sometimes these are relatively uncommon to Americans, but they can also be known over here, just for something totally different.
For instance, in the US, AFC means the American Football Conference. In Britain, it is also to do with football (REAL football!), as it is a term used in the name of a number of teams - Athletic Football Club. Examples are AFC Wimbledon, and AFC Bournemouth. Of course, it can also refer to Arsenal Football Club!
I hope you are following me, so here are some more that may be unfamiliar...
AA : While Alcoholics Anonymous is known over there, this is actually the British version of AAA, simply the Automobile Association...
ABC : Not a television network, but a famous cinema chain in the UK - Associated British Cinema.
BAFTA : The British Academy of Film and Television Arts. The annual awards night is simply known as "The Baftas".
BSA : Nothing to do with the Boy Scouts of America. BSA is a noted British motorcycle manufacturer, with the acronym meaning the Birmingham Small Arms Company. Originally, the company made firearms, then bicycles, before moving into the motorcycle trade in 1910.
GBH : Strangely enough, the GB does not stand for Great Britain! This is a term used in criminal law, representing Grievous Bodily Harm. In other words, an assault.
GMT : The British equivalent of EST or PST, the entire country is on Greenwich Mean Time.
NME : One of the great publications of our time, the weekly pop/rock music newspaper, the New Musical Express
.
NSRA : Not the National Street Rod Association, but the National Small-Bore Rifle Association!
OAP : The equivalent of the American Senior Citizen is the Old Age Pensioner.
RAC: The famed Rent-a-Center is not what the British think of with this one. It is the rival of the AA (see above), the Royal Automobile Club.
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