Oftentimes instead of writing out the words we abbreviate or create acronyms or groups of initials to say the same thing. Here is a list of the more common letter groupings when it comes to talking about BDSM and submission. These could also be seen in profiles and dating sites.
@: In discussions, addressing a reply to that user’s statement @OP: Addressing a reply to the Original Post (and/or Poster)
.02 (as in “my .02”): two cents’ worth 24/7: Full-time relationship (24 hrs, 7 days)
A-C
* AB: Adult Baby * ABDL: Adult Baby/Diaper Lovers * AFK: Away From The Keyboard. Similar to BRB, but indicates you might be gone for longer. * ANR: Adult Nursing Relationship * ATM: Ass To Mouth * ASL: Age, Sex, Location? This was a popular question in chat rooms, but not so much on sites such as this where your A, S and L are probably stated in—profile.*
BBW: Big Beautiful Woman * BD: Bondage and Discipline * BDSM: General term referring to the entire range of D/s; an amalgamation of abbreviations:
- BD: Bondage and Discipline
- D/s: Dominance and submission
- S/m: Sado-masochism
- BFD: Big Fucking Deal
- BRB – Be Right Back… commonly used when IMing
- BS: Bullshit!
- BUMP: In discussion, a “bump” is entering a response whose sole purpose is to bring the thread back to the top of the list.
- BYOT: Bring Your Own Toys (helps prevent spread of diseases)
- CBT: Cock and Ball Torture
- CD: Cross Dresser
- CDD: Christian Domestic Discipline
D-F
- DL: Diaper Lover
- DM: Dungeon Monitor
- D/s: Dominance/submission
- DTTAH: Don’t Try This At Home
- EMC: Erotic Mind Control
- FEM: Abbrev. for “female”, as in FEM DOM.
- FFF, FMF, FMM, etc: Refers to “threesomes”, F for female, M for male.
- FFS: For Fucks Sake
- FtM: Female to Male transgender (see TG note)
- FUBAR: Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition
- FUMTU: Fucked Up More Than Usual
- FWIW: For What It’s Worth
- FYI: For Your Information*
G-J
- GF: Gender Fluid
- GG: Gender Girl
- GIGO: Garbage In Garbage Out
- GL: Good Looking
- GM: Gender Male
- GMTA: Great Minds Think Alike (can be combined with YFSD)
- GTMI: Giving Too Much Information
- GQ: Gender Queer
- HARD: Honour Accountability Responsibility Duty.
- HILT: Honesty Integrity loyalty Trust.
- HWP: Height-Weight Proportional
- IANAL: I Am Not A Lawyer
- IDGAD, IDGAF: I Don’t Give A Damn (Fuck)
- IM (IMing) – Instant Messenger. Refers to chat services like Yahoo Messenger and Skype, think of it as texting from your computer.
- IMHO: In My Honest Opinion
- IMhO: In My humble Opinion
- IMNSHO: In My Not So Humble Opinion
- IMO: In My Opinion
- IMPE: In My Personal Experience
- RL: In Real Life
- ISO: In Search Of (usu. refers to “personals” ad)
K-M
- KMA: Kiss My Ass
- LD, LDR: Long Distance Relationship
- LGBT: Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans (generalization encompassing all of alternate sexuality)
- LMAO: Laughing My Ass Off
- LMBO: Laughing My Butt Off
- LOL: Laughing Out Loud
- LT, LTR: Long-Term Relationship
- MC: Mind Control
- MILF: Mother I’d Like to Fuck
- MFF, MFM, MMM, etc: Refers to “threesomes”, F for female, M for male.
- MFIC: Mother Fucker In Charge
- MtF: Male to Female transgender
- MYOB, MYOFB: Mind Your Own (Fucking) Business
N-Q
*NBD, NBFD: No Big (Fucking) Deal
* NLA: National Leather Association
* NSA: No Strings Attached
OL, O/L, OLR: On-line relationship
* OP: Original Post or Original Poster
* OSO: Other Significant Other
* OTK: Over The Knee
PE: Power Exchange
* PYL: Pick Your Label *
R-V
*R & P: Restraint and Pleasure
* RACK: Risk Aware Consensual Kink (alternative philosophy to SSC)
* ROFL, ROTFL: Rolling On (The) Floor Laughing
* ROFLMAO: Rolling On Floor Laughing My Ass Off
* RL, R/L: Real Life
* RT, R/T: Real Time
* RU, RUA: Are you (a) ______?
SAM, SAS: Smart-Ass Masochist/Subbie
* SDS: Same Damned Spot
* SNAFU: Situation Normal: All Fucked Up
* SO: Significant Other
* SOSDD: Same Old Shit, Different Day
* SRS: Sexual Reassignment Surgery
* SSBBW: Super-Size Big Beautiful Woman
* SSC: Safe, Sane, Consensual (alternative philosophy to RACK)
* SSDD: Same Shit, Different Day
TB: Teen Baby
* TBH, TBTH: To Be (Totally) Honest
* TFF: Too Fucking Funny
* TG: Trans-Gender
* TGFM, TG F-M, TG FtoM, etc: Trans-Gender Female-to-Male
* TGMF, TG M-F, TG MtoF, etc: Trans-Gender Male-to-Female
* TIA: Thanks In Advance
* TIH: Taken In Hand
* TLDR: Too Long, Didn’t Read
* TMI: Too Much Information
* TPE: Total Power Exchange
* TTFN: Ta Ta For Now
* TTYL: Talk To You Later
* TTYS: Talk To You Soon
* TV: Transvestite
* TY: Thank You
* TYVM: Thank You Very Much
* TY,TYVM
UDM: Ultimate Decision Maker
W-Z
*WEG: Wicked Evil Grin
* WIITWD: What It Is That We Do
* WTF: What the Fuck
* WTMI: Way Too Much Information
YFSD: Yet Fools Seldom Differ (can be combined with GMTA)
* YKINMK: Your Kink Is Not My Kink
* YKNMKBTOK: Your Kink’s Not My Kink But That’s OK
* YKINMKBYKIOK: Your Kink Is Not My Kink But Your Kink Is OK
* YKINNMK: Your Kink Is Not Necessarily My Kink
* YKINOK: Your Kink Is Not OK
* YKIOK, IJNMK: Your Kink Is OK, It’s Just Not My Kink
* YMMV: Your Mileage May Vary
* YMW: You’re Most Welcome
* YQW, YRQW: You’re (Really) Quite Welcome
* YW: You’re Welcome
Special thanks to BDSM Glossary for compiling the initial list.
Anything else I should add to this list? Suggest them in the comments!