Backronyms and Balderdash
Talking absolute nonsense.
A ‘backronym’ is, simply put, an acronym created in reverse.
An acronym is usually (but not always) formed from the initial letters of a name or series of words to create a new word. Hence a ‘backronym’ (of the home-made variety at least) is when new words are attached to each letter of a given word to bring about meaning.
It can be fun (but not always) to create ‘backronyms’ of your very own. This all depends on your particular idea of fun, the amount of time you’re willing to spend on such a pursuit, and the current state of your social life.
A logical place to begin is the word itself. Here’s my first attempt:
BACKRONYM — Backwardly Attaching Claus Kernels Reveals Outstandingly Nonsensical Yodel Meanings
Not every time you attempt this will be entirely successful.
In the formation of regular acronyms, the initial letters aren't always deployed on their own. They are often helped out by other letters. A great example is RADAR, which stems from Radio Detection And Ranging.
So, taking a leaf from our forward friend, you can always be a little more flexible:
BACKRONYM — Backwards Realisaton Yields Meaning
Some would say this is cheating, and thus not a true ‘backronym’. I tend to agree — sticking to the first letter of each word is clearly much more fun. (Then again, please remember I have a somewhat warped idea of enjoyment, a hell of a lot of spare time and no social life whatsoever.)
Initial Thoughts
Acronyms should not be confused with ‘initalisms’, such as TNT or ESP. In this case, abbreviations for trinitrotoluene and extrasensory perception. However, just like acronyms, initialisms can evolve backwards too.
The famous Morse code signal SOS has been retconned to mean ‘Save Our Souls’, when originally it never stood for anything. There is much debate over the original meaning of DVD — perhaps ‘Digital Video Disc’ or ‘Digital Versatile Disc’. Either way, DVD has effectively become a word in its own right, and doesn't really stand for anything either. (This is especially true with the advent of Blu-Ray and online streaming.)
Remember, Remember
‘Backronyms’ often serve as handy mnemonics. They often come into existence to help us commit larger chunks of information to memory.
Mnemonic devices are generally sentences for remembering a string of other words. This means the initial letters don’t necessarily make much sense when you put them all together.
For example, when you first glance at MVEMJSUNP it will probably mean very little to you. But if I write -
My Very Early Morning Jelly Sandwiches Usually Need Peeling
…it will still, in all probability, mean very little to you.
It is, of course, a much treasured childhood mnemonic for recalling the order of the planets of our solar system. As a straightforward acronym/initialism it simply doesn't work. (Though as Pluto is no longer considered a planet, it doesn't work very well as a sentence either.)
Conversely, for the colors of the rainbow, I always found ROY G BIV much more useful than Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain.
(In fact, to recite the Richard of York sentence I’d first have to remember the very colors I was attempting to recall and re-assign their corresponding words. This surely defeats the point of such a memory device. Perhaps this mental exercise was where my passion for ‘backronyms’ — and lack of social life — first began.)
Its uselessness is further compounded by the somewhat startling revelation that there isn’t really any indigo or violet in a rainbow anyway.
Another favourite mnemonic of mine comes from a fantastic League of Gentlemen sketch. To quote: “DPI equals SIN. Determination, plus Perspiration, plus Inspiration equals Success In Newsagency.”
Back to the Acronym
Enough with mnemonics. I can’t remember where I was going with them anyway. (Yes, I said it.) To create a truly impressive (and memorable) ‘backronym’, let’s return to classic acronyms for inspiration. I mentioned RADAR above. Other widely-known favourites include -
NASA — National Aeronautics and Space Administration
LASER — Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation)
And, of course -
TARDIS — Time And Relative Dimensions In Space.
This last one, arguably, is actually an example of a ‘backronym’, depending largely on how the creators of Doctor Who came to name it.
Let’s Get Creative
Down to business then — it’s time to make our own ‘backronyms’. I’ll start with a word from this post. OK, here’s one:
BALDERDASH — Bothersome And Loathsome Detritus Engendering Rather Decidedly Awful Silliness Henceforthwith
Hmm. Not great. Larger words tend to take on a similar trend when you shoehorn as many adjectives and adverbs in as possible. With smaller words you can attempt to be more concise, and keep the meaning closer to the word you’re describing:
CHESS — Clear Head Equals Strategic Success
Whilst some are clearly more difficult than others, any word will do. To kick-start your imagination, you’ll need something that’s easy to visualize, like an animal, or a type of food.
RABBIT — Romping And Blissfully Bounding In Tranquillity
BANANAS — Bent And Nice And Nice And Scrummy
Pluralizing a word by sticking an ‘s’ on the end always helps if you’re really stuck. There’s no judgment when it comes to ‘backronyms’. At least not from me.
Of course, they don’t always have to be plain silly. If you’re feeling a little clever you can always try and make a point of some sort:
POLITICS — Power Over Lives Increases Turmoil In Civilised Societies
UNIVERSE — Underlying Nanoscopic Infrastructure Verses Endless Reality Spacetime Ether
See? Those are a little clever. And I literally do mean a little.
Final Thought
Here’s what inspired me to write about ‘backronyms’ in the first place. It’s a made-up word my father has been using for years. He claimed to never know precisely what it meant, but when we realised it was actually an acronym waiting to get out, it suddenly made perfect sense:
BLASHFART — Bowel Loosification Assisting Sulphurous Hydrogenised Functions of Anally Released Tremors
I’d like to have ended this exploration of the ‘backwards acronym’ with something slightly more profound than that, but I guess this will have to do.
