Don't Come Up Short: The Ultimate Abbreviations Quiz

E.g. is the Latin shorthand for exempli gratia, which means "for example." It's often mistakenly interchanged with i.e., a Latin abbreviation for id est or "in other words."

Not to be confused with Queen Bey (Beyonce, naturally), BAE is a modern term of endearment. Although in Danish it means "poop." So, watch where you say it!

This one has an interesting backstory. OK was coined by a Boston newspaper in 1839 and was trendy shorthand for "oll korrect" or "all correct." The term stayed alive with the invention of the telegraph as a standard way for operators to acknowledge receipt of a telegram.

RSVP stands for répondez, s'il vous plaît, a French expression meaning "respond if you please" or "please reply." In other words, guests receiving an invitation with an RSVP should always let the host know whether they plan to attend or not.

"Stat!" is what those doctors shout, which is another way of saying a situation is urgent. It's a Latin abbreviation for statum, which means "immediately." ("Stet" is a Latin word which you might see on a manuscript, meaning "leave as is" or ignore a correction. Stot, we just made up.)

Although people often add an "s" on the end, the correct pronunciation is daylight saving time, the period when we put our clocks ahead one hour and complain about waking up in the dark.

CAPTCHA technology actually blocks spammers and bots bent on wreaking havoc on the internet. So the next time you have to "click all the pictures that show a pigeon" try not to be annoyed. It's actually a helpful service.

It's a very important acronym for skydivers, as it stands for "high altitude, low opening."

Don't worry, most prescription instructions are spelled out much more clearly than this bit of medical jargon which means before a meal (another Latin phrase, ante cibum.)

"Et al.", which always takes a period after "al", is a Latin abbreviation for et alia or in English "and others." It's used when a particular paper or work has more than two authors and it would be very cumbersome to list all the names.