These are some of the more common TLAs (three letter acronyms) and abbreviations you’re likely to come across in dating profiles, messages or ‘chat’ sessions. There are others, and new ones are being invented all the time – if you think I’ve missed one add a comment at the bottom or drop me a message.
2NITE
tonight
420
refers to the use of cannabis
ADN
any day now
AFAIK
as far as I know
AFK
away from keyboard
AKA
also known as
AML
all my love
ASAP
as soon as possible
ASLP
age/sex/location/picture
AWYR
awaiting your reply
B4
before
B4N
bye for now
BAK
back at keyboard
BBL
be back later
BBC
big black cock
BBW
big beautiful woman
BCNU
be seeing you
BDSM
bondage & discipline/domination & submission/sadism & masochism
BEG
big evil grin
BF
boyfriend
BFF
best friends forever
BFFL
best friends for life
BFN
bye for now
BRB
be right back
(as in, “I’ve got to answer the door” etc)
BS
big smile/bullshit
(that could make for an interesting misunderstanding!)
BTAIM
be that as it may
BTU
back to you
BTW
by the way
BWK
big wet kiss
CBL
come back later
CIO
check it out
CU
see you
CUL
catch you later
CWYL
chat with you later
DDF
drug and disease free
DIKU
do I know you?
DILIGAS
does it look like I give a sh*t?
Div
divorced
DLN
don’t leave now
DLTM
don’t lie to me
DTE
down to earth
EG
evil grin
F/ship
friendship
FAQ
frequently asked questions
FOTCL
falling off the chair laughing
FTF
face to face
FWB
friends with ‘benefits’
(‘benefits’ being sex)
FWIW
for what it’s worth
FYI
for your information
G2G
got to go
GAL
get a life!
GF
girlfriend
GFAK
go fly a kite
GIO
get it over
GL
good luck
GMAB
give me a break!
GSOH
good sense of humour
GTSY
glad to see you
H&K
hugs and kisses
HAGN
have a good night
HAK
hugs and kisses
HB
hurry back
HIG
how’s it going?
ICBW
I could be wrong
IDC
I don’t care
IDK
I don’t know
IDST
I didn’t say that!
IGP
I gotta pee
IMHO
in my humble opinion
IMO
in my opinion
(no humility)
IRL
in real life
(e.g. “let’s meet IRL”)
ISO
in search of
J/K
just kidding
JAM
just a minute
JAS
just a second
KIT
keep in touch
KWIM
know what I mean?
L8R
later
LDR
long distance relationship
LJBF
let’s just be friends
LMAO
laughing my arse off
LOL
laugh out loud
(or, very occasionally, ‘lots of love’,
but that’s actually a mistake made by newbies)
LOLA
laughing out loud again
LTR
long term relationship
M/F
male/female
M4M
man for man
M4MW
man for couple (man & woman)
M4W
man for woman
M8
mate
MILF
mother I’d like to f***
(or more generally; an attractive woman in her 30s / 40s)
MOTOS
member of the opposite sex
MOTSS
member of the same sex
MRS
meet real soon
MW4M
couple (man & woman) for man
MW4W
couple (man & woman) for woman
MWBRL
more will be revealed later
MYOB
mind your own business
N1
nice one!
N2S
needless to say
ND
non- drinker
NOYB
none of your business
NP
no problem
NRN
no response necessary
NS
non-smoker
NSA
no strings attached (sex)
NTTAWWT
not that there’s anything wrong with that
NW
no way!
OBTW
oh, by the way
OIC
oh I see
OMG
oh my God!
OT
off topic
PDA
public display of affection
PLS
please
POV
point of view
PMSL
peeing myself laughing
PTB
part time boyfriend
PTG
part time girlfriend
R/ship
relationship
RBTL
read(ing) between the lines
ROTFL
rolling on the floor laughing
ROTFLMAO
rolling on the floor laughing my arse off
ROTL
rolling on the floor laughing
RUOK
are you OK?
SD
social drinker
SOH
sense of humour
SOL
sooner or later
SOMY
sick of me yet?
SS
social smoker
STD
sexually transmitted disease
SWAK
sealed with a kiss
SWALK
sealed with a loving kiss
SYS
see you soon
TAFN
that’s all for now
TAH
take a hike!
TBDL
to be discussed later
TDH
tall, dark & handsome
TG
transgender
THX
thanks
TIAIL
think I am in love
TLC
tender loving care
TMI
too much information
TNTC
too numerous to count
TS
transsexual
TTFN
“ta ta for now”
(bye)
TTYL
talk to you later
TTYS
talk to you soon
TV
transvestite
TX
thanks
TYVM
thank you very much
VGL
very good looking
VM
voicemail
W/E
well endowed
W4M
woman for man
W4MW
woman for couple (man & woman)
W4W
woman for woman
W8
wait!
WIIFM
what’s in it for me?
WGTG
well, got to go
WLTM
would like to meet
WRU
who are you?
WTF
what the f***!?
WTGP
want to go private?
(as in; online private ‘chat’ mode)
WUF
where are you from?
WWJD
what would Jesus do?
WWPD
what would Peter do?
(not always the same as Jesus)
WWTMM
who was that masked man?
WYS
whatever you say
WYSIWYG
what you see is what you get
XOXO
hugs and kisses
YNK
you never know
YW
you’re welcome