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Four-Letter Acronyms

Can you guess these common four letter acronyms and initialisms?
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: November 22, 2020
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First submittedApril 10, 2014
Times taken86,563
Average score66.7%
Rating4.25
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Hint
Answer
America's space agency
NASA
Governing body of world soccer
FIFA
The Soviet Union
USSR
Mutants who fought the evil Shredder
TMNT
Grateful that the weekend is coming
TGIF
Cable that connects your TV to your blu-ray
HDMI
Do NOT view on your work computer
NSFW
Statement used to justify reckless behavior
that is incompatible with reincarnation
YOLO
Immediately; soon; now
ASAP
Long range nuclear rocket
ICBM
Missing from an army base
AWOL
Controversial animal rights group
PETA
Hint
Answer
Place for cheap Swedish furniture
IKEA
Please respond to this invitation
RSVP
Provide your own drink
BYOB
International oil cartel
OPEC
What HIV can cause
AIDS
Why Ritalin might be prescribed
ADHD
What comes before www in a URL
HTTP
A hypothetical question about a person
who lived 2000 years ago
WWJD
The largest city in Vietnam
HCMC
Largest bank in the U.K.
HSBC
Series featuring Frodo and pals
LOTR
Drug also known as Ecstasy
MDMA
101 Recent Comments
+38
Level 63
May 7, 2014
People Eating Tasty Animals - PETA
+15
Level 90
Sep 6, 2018
People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, such as wearing hairnets, proper handling for meat marked as kosher, clean prep areas, etc.
+45
Level 61
Nov 27, 2020
My favourite fake PETA is “Pretending Everything Threatens Animals”
+12
Level 80
Dec 18, 2020
wdym fake
+2
Level 88
Dec 14, 2022
Yum! sign me up
+2
Level 51
Dec 14, 2022
That vegan teacher would have a stroke
+10
Level 80
May 7, 2014
I confess ignorance; I had never heard of Drake before this quiz. Other than Sir Francis. Being a pop culture curmudgeon hurts me with these quizzes, I suppose.
+2
Level 13
May 8, 2014
no IHOP?
+8
Level 47
Nov 13, 2020
IHOB* :-)
+1
Level 59
Dec 17, 2020
IHOP* :-)
+2
Level 33
Feb 3, 2023
IHOP*

International

House

Of

Pancakes

+2
Level 78
Dec 17, 2020
Restaurant where Aileen works?
+12
Level 46
May 8, 2014
For "Do NOT view this at work" I put BDSM. Ha!
+1
Level 48
May 8, 2014
Yeah, that should be accepted.
+1
Level 90
May 16, 2016
I was planning to comment about BDSM, that's what I tried too. I had never heard of NSFW.
+1
Level 88
Dec 14, 2022
How was it?
+5
Level 90
Dec 14, 2022
I decided it was nothing I wanted to be tied up in. ;)
+5
Level 69
Dec 17, 2020
But what if your work actually requires you to view BDSM? Depending on workplace, the definition of NSFW could vary wildly!
+19
Level 25
May 11, 2014
Most of these technically aren't acronyms. It's only an acronym if it forms (and can be spoken as) a word; like "nasa" or "peta" or "awol". If you just speak the letters then its just an initilism; like "BBC" or "USSR". The weird one is always UFO; it's an initilism because most people say UFO, but the guy who came up with it ended for it to be an acronym, pronounced as Ufo. Juts a little bit of knowledge for you all there.
+1
Level 65
Dec 17, 2020
I knew about acronyms vs. initialisms, but not that fun fact about UFO. Thanks for teaching us something new!
+1
Level 48
May 13, 2021
Actually, initialisms are a subset of acronyms. That is to say, USSR is both an acronym and an initialism, while NASA is only an acronym.
+3
Level 88
Dec 14, 2022
IDC
+1
Level 62
Dec 14, 2022
No. That's not right. If anything acronyms are initialisms that are pronounced as a word. Initialisms are just initialisms.
+1
Level 78
Dec 14, 2022
Interestingly, in German, UFO is indeed used as an acronym (Ufo), but somehow not so much in English.
+1
Level 51
Dec 15, 2022
I love me some BBC! But what does it stand for??
+2
Level 72
Dec 16, 2022
British Broadcasting Corporation
+1
Level 51
Dec 18, 2022
Not the BBCs I'm referring to but thanks
+1
Level 67
Mar 29, 2024
NSFW
+4
Level 56
Dec 5, 2015
IKEA is an acronym??
+23
Level 94
Dec 22, 2015
Yeah, It's the founder, Ingvar Kamprad, the farm he grew up on, Elmtaryd, in the town of Agunaryd
+5
Level 61
Dec 11, 2017
I can’t tell if you’re serious or making a joke...
+16
Level 51
Jun 5, 2018
No he's serious, that's why IKEA is called IKEA lol
+11
Level 85
Nov 22, 2020
That sounds like something from the credits in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."
+14
Level 94
Nov 30, 2020
Yeah, I was being serious. Just assume I Know Everything, Alright?
+1
Level 87
May 16, 2016
Is there an English meaning of RSVP or is it the French "Répondez, s'il vous plaît"?
+6
Level 86
May 16, 2016
Even in English, it refers to the French phrase - even though most here in the US couldn't spell it properly.
+1
Level 70
Nov 18, 2016
Just 'Respond if you please'
+10
Level 72
Sep 9, 2019
that spells riyp, so the answer is no.
+1
Level 63
May 17, 2016
There's a list of acronyms on Wikipedia. NSFW is not on there in case you were wondering. It's categorized as Internet slang. Anyway: NSFW means Not Safe For Work. And it is exactly what it says: Material containing nudity, pornography etc. I've seen it being used for violent content as well. Kind of like a spoiler alert.
+6
Level 90
May 23, 2016
I thought drake referred to Sir Francis. I am getting old
+3
Level 82
Nov 23, 2020
Same, and I am only 17...
+1
Level 79
Dec 19, 2020
You're not alone on that.
+7
Level 82
Oct 15, 2017
Just a general point; there is a difference between an acronym and an abbreviation. If you pronounce the letters individually, this is not an acronym. An acronym is when a new word is formed, for example "SCUBA".

ICBM, ADHD, etc are abbreviations, NOT acronyms.

+1
Level 28
Dec 14, 2022
ADHD is Attention Deficite Hyperactive Disorder so doesnt that make it an acronym since each of the letters stand for a different word?
+1
Level 91
Jan 17, 2024
No
+2
Level 72
Dec 6, 2018
I tried scud for the rocket..
+2
Level 72
Dec 19, 2020
So did I! (Yes I know I am replying to myself)
+1
Level 79
Dec 19, 2020
If you saw an ICBM, you would mostly likely be seeing one in multiple ways (I See Bowl Movements). [A sort of funny joke told to me by my History of the Cold War professor]
+2
Level 54
Dec 7, 2018
Do not view this on your work computer: PORN.
+1
Level 85
Nov 22, 2020
Super fun quiz! Great idea!
+4
Level 85
Nov 23, 2020
Animal rights group: SPCA?
+5
Level 78
Dec 17, 2020
It's a subtle but crucial distinction: the SPCA is an animal welfare organization, while PETA is an animal rights group.
+3
Level 70
Nov 23, 2020
WWJD is a thing?
+8
Level 75
Nov 23, 2020
Question asked by Caesarians all over the world. What Would Julius Do?
+1
Level 78
Dec 14, 2022
Are you sure this is not rather referring to Jesus? When thinking of a person living 2000 years ago, that is usually what comes to mind first. Caesar obviously lived a little before that, say, 2070 years ago. Besides, I don't think Caesar is often referred to as Julius.
+5
Level 71
Dec 17, 2020
The bracelets were big in the 90s.

+8
Level 69
Dec 17, 2020
Woahhh this is the first picture I've ever seen in a comment. ~future~
+1
Level 72
Dec 19, 2020
It has always been possible along with small bold and cursive etc.

I ve posted at least one picture in the comments on jetpunk (I think two but can only remember what one was, a slice of earthcake). (Ow wait I remember what the other was, someone thought Malaysia looked like something and I thought it looked like wajang puppet and found one that looked almost exactly like it)

but don't want to burden the servers so those have been the only two times. When words couldn't explain it.

+1
Level 72
Dec 19, 2020
Found the quiz with the wajang, not the cake unfortunately. wajang picture post
+1
Level 53
Dec 20, 2020
2000's maybe, not the 90's.
+1
Level 53
Dec 23, 2020
Those bracelets were definitely big in the 90s.
+5
Level 78
Nov 23, 2020
"A hypothetical question about a person who lived 2000 years ago" - I actually tried typing "OMFG"...
+1
Level 72
Dec 19, 2020
How is that a question? OK weird scenario comes to me as an answer... like someone walking in on their parents an seeing (inexplicable) things and saying omfg and having a lot of questions ..

I guess there are a lot of questions surrounding the f subject and God...

about gods in roman times there was much more clarity shall we say. (When? Whenever possible, who? Doesn't matter)

+1
Level 70
Nov 24, 2020
It felt like I tried every combination of the letters M, D, and A for ecstasy. Apparently I missed the right one.

Never knew IKEA is an acronym

+1
Level 72
Dec 19, 2020
I tried HDMA I guess I was thinking of the high definition version... :D (I was pretty sure it ended in MA standing for methamphetamine )
+2
Level 76
Nov 26, 2020
Does anyone else remember the mutant thing having H (for hero) as part of the acronym? Pepperidge Farm Remembers.
+3
Level 32
Dec 17, 2020
Yes because in the UK and some of Europe it was called Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles not TMNT....
+1
Level 72
Dec 19, 2020
They weren't ninjas? We're they teenage mutant wrestling turtles then? Or free fighting turtles?
+1
Level 62
Dec 17, 2020
Technically we have https before the www now, but okay.
+2
Level 68
Dec 17, 2020
HTTPS is the standard but you can still navigate with HTTP and find domains that didn't purchase the SSL. Definitely not the Quizmaster's best hint. Quizmaster - consider changing it to something that doesn't imply an absolute condition like, "Common protocol that comes before www in a URL"?
+1
Level 67
Dec 14, 2022
Does it matter? Since you have type in http in order to get to https?
+2
Level 32
Dec 17, 2020
Got most easily but spent most of the time trying to make "Sic Parvis Magna" into a 4 letter acronym... Turns out it was a Drake I had never hear of rather than the one I knew....
+1
Level 48
Dec 14, 2022
You seem like the type of person to say "Sorry, I don't follow pop culture"
+1
Level 75
Dec 17, 2020
These aren't all acronyms. Acronyms are only abbreviations which are pronounced like words (e.g. NASA) USSR for example is not an acronym, for it is pronounced U-Es-Es-Ar
+3
Level 66
Dec 17, 2020
The instructions say that the quiz consists of both acronyms and initialisms, so this seems like more of a 'you' problem.
+2
Level 75
Dec 18, 2020
I was referring to the title, but nvm, I guess QM just wanted a short title.
+2
Level 82
Dec 6, 2022
In that case he coulda called it FLAs
+1
Level 51
Dec 15, 2022
No USSR is pronounced 'you-sir'
+1
Level 64
Dec 17, 2020
Some are acronyms, some are initialisms. An acronym spells out a 𝑓𝑎𝑢𝑥 word, an initialism is an acronym pronounced by its individual letters, an abbreviation is a truncated word.
+1
Level 72
Dec 19, 2020
And the quiz is about both, so we can all sleep tight.
+5
Level 87
Dec 21, 2020
CCCP should be accepted for the Soviet Union.
+1
Level 68
Dec 14, 2022
You mean SSSR?
+3
Level 43
Dec 21, 2020
Ho Chi Minh City is a bit of a stretch. Most people leave out the "City" bit and even less people use an acronym for it
+3
Level 68
Dec 14, 2022
I still call it Saigon
+2
Level 64
Apr 3, 2022
There are other animal rights organizations that are four-letter acronyms. In the UK we have VIVA (Vegetarian International Voice for Animals).

Like PETA, it's an acronym. Most of the answers on this quiz are abbreviations, not acronyms.

+2
Level 75
Apr 3, 2022
"blu ray" OK woteva grandad lolz
+2
Level 87
May 29, 2022
Abbreviations and acronyms are not this same thing. Why do so many people have trouble understanding this simple concept? If you can sound it out, it is an acronym. If you cannot, it is an abbreviation.

Acronym: NASA, PETA, AWOL

Abbreviation: USSR, BYOB, NSFW

+2
Level ∞
May 29, 2022
I'd encourage you to read the Wikipedia article:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym

+2
Level 61
Dec 14, 2022
CCCP should be accepted for USSR
+1
Level 49
Dec 14, 2022
CCCP is the Cyrillic/Russian spelling. USSR is the English one. This is an English-language quiz.
+2
Level 61
Dec 14, 2022
Ik, I just think it should be accepted.
+2
Level 68
Dec 14, 2022
Or SSSR
+3
Level 59
Dec 14, 2022
Acronyms form words, such as LASER. These are mostly abbreviations.
+1
Level 70
Dec 14, 2022
WWJD - Must be an American, I've never heard this before and can't imagine ay other nationality being this crazy. Exactly what circumstance is this appropriate?
+1
Level 68
Dec 14, 2022
same. I'm sure there are some people in my country who ask themselves this question but being largely secular it hasn't impinged on the greater consciousness.
+1
Level 64
Jul 15, 2024
ha! the greater consciousness...
+2
Level 41
Mar 6, 2023
"Most famous Swedish pop group" should be one ;)
+1
Level 70
May 5, 2023
22/24, missed PETA and HSBC. Didn't realize WWJD is commonly used as an acronym
+1
Level 91
Jan 17, 2024
The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation - as British as they come. Also, nice to see Mandy made the quiz, gotta love a cheeky bomb…
+1
Level 75
Feb 16, 2024
9/24, not too bad for someone living in a non-English-speaking country.
+1
Level 64
Jul 15, 2024
You should accept SPCA for the animal question.