PIN Numbers

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Jesse Liberty

When I was a kid, I collected brand names that were also generics (I’m all that’s left of a very bizarre childhood).   Among my prizes were

  • Frisbee
  • Yoyo
  • Bandaid
  • Slinky
  • Scotch Tape
  • Xerox
  • Google

you get the idea

(Okay, we didn’t have the last one or I’d be a lot richer)

Yesterday,after passing a sign that said “ATM Machine,” my daughter and I started a small collections of acronym redundancies. Here’s our starter list, you are invited to add more

AcroRedundancies

ATM Machine

PIN  Number

SALT Talks

SAT Test

SQL Language

CD Rom Disk (a variant)

GIF Format (and if you are over 40 that is pronounced with a soft g, but if you are under 40 or a designer, a hard g)

You are invited to contribute as you run across more.

And while you’re at it, let’s create a full list of the recursive acronyms, such as GNU, LAME, PHP… Those are fun too.

About Jesse Liberty

Jesse Liberty has three decades of experience writing and delivering software projects and is the author of 2 dozen books and a couple dozen online courses. His latest book, Building APIs with .NET will be released early in 2025. Liberty is a Senior SW Engineer for CNH and he was a Senior Technical Evangelist for Microsoft, a Distinguished Software Engineer for AT&T, a VP for Information Services for Citibank and a Software Architect for PBS. He is a Microsoft MVP.
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10 Responses to PIN Numbers

  1. Mike Brown says:
    September 13, 2010 at 8:19 am

    @Ray Shuman
    Yes…my aunt used to call them Frigidaires. Here’s another few for the first list

    Aspirin (which Bayer lost the brand rights to because they didn’t defend it so I guess it technically doesn’t belong)
    Jacuzzi
    Kleenex
    Lego
    Skidoo (although to be fair…does anyone else make a jet ski?)

    For the RAS Syndrome how about
    RIA App
    HSN Network
    Interstate I-65

  2. Bogdan says:
    September 12, 2010 at 3:47 am

    What about WP7 Phone? 🙂

  3. Simon Morton says:
    September 11, 2010 at 12:02 am

    Percent APR

  4. Ray Shuman says:
    September 10, 2010 at 2:21 pm

    Oh, and a few years ago I taught my wife the recursive acronym Mung:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mung_(computer_term)
    She teaches it to her elementary school art class. When someone futzes with their project too long, the other kids start chanting, “No munging! No munging!”

    And then there’s Hofstadter’s Law…
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hofstadter%27s_law

  5. Ray Shuman says:
    September 10, 2010 at 12:54 pm

    A couple of vintage entries:
    – Frigidaire used to be in the first list.
    – DMZ Zone used to be in the second.

  6. Dave says:
    September 10, 2010 at 12:08 pm

    DVD Disk
    NTFS File System

  7. herzmeister der welten says:
    September 10, 2010 at 11:15 am

    LCD Display

  8. Bazza says:
    September 10, 2010 at 11:03 am

    …and you can add Hoover to your first list (though this is more of a UK thing I guess)

  9. Jeff says:
    September 10, 2010 at 11:03 am

    Always wondered the proper name for acronyms like this, there is a nice list of recursive acronyms on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recursive_acronym

    To add to your redundant list,
    CSS Style Sheets.

  10. Bazza says:
    September 10, 2010 at 11:01 am

    I think your AcroRedundancies are what is also known as PNS syndrome (expands to “personal identification number number syndrome syndrome”).
    See wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAS_syndrome
    So stealing from there you could add to your list…
    – CSS Style Sheets
    – SMS Message

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