Latest edit: Mar 2009

All Mods are welcome to edit this Glossary.
Any word or phrase may be inserted here, as long as they:
a. are often used in the forums and/or fandom;
b. can be rated PG-13.


Here are some silly and weird acronyms and terms you will find in Portkey's forums, and in other fansites as well. This list includes some netspeak.
Most definition were copied from various' members posts.

Thanks to Nielle, Nitya & Kalie for the netspeak and other terms. Much thanks to Nielle, for her incredible memory and skill in digging up the first mentions of some terms.

• ABH = Anywhere But Here
  
  
• AFAIK = internet lingo for As far as I know
  
  
• AFK = Away From Keyboard, ie, offline
  
  
• Aurors = Another name for H/Hr shippers, from the fake Moody's suggestion (in book 4, GoF) that Harry & Hermione would both make good Aurors.
  
  
• AU = Alternate Universe. A fic that doesn't really follow the original story. It can contradict canon. Definitions courtesy of innermurk & Angel-Wing
  
  
• Beta or Beta Reader = someone who helps a writer edit stories for spelling, grammar, plot and or character development issues. The writer usually posts the story (or story chapter) AFTER a beta has looked it over.
  Portkeyers may volunteer their betaing services in the Beta Reader Searches forum.
  
  
• BNF = Big Name Fan. A person who's widely known in a fandom. (definitions by darkstar & tistytosty)
  
  
• BTS = Behind the Scenes. Photos or videos taken particularly of moments off-camera while filming a movie or TV show.
  
  
• Canon = the books as written by the original author. "Harry Potter canon" would therefore refer to J.K. Rowling's books. Ms. Rowling's interviews are also considered to be canon.
  While some consider the Harry Potter movies to be canon, others hold the opposite view. The latter argue that the movies do not necessarily reflect JKR's views.
  
  
• Choco = refers to the Harry/Ginny ship
  
  
• Cookie = snippet from an upcoming longer story
  
  
• Delurk or Delurkers = see Lurk
  
  
• D/G = A Draco - Ginny pairing
  
  
• DLA = Draco Lovers Anonymous. A huge project explained by InTheStars and Sakura1287.
  
  
• Drabble: - This is a small piece of writing. A story about the length of a poem, so therefore not long enough to be a story, so it doesn't really fit anywhere, hence, a Drabble.
  
  
• EWE = Epilogue? What Epilogue? I suppose this refers to fanfics that ignore the epilogue in Book 7, Deathly Hallows.
  
  
• FAP or FA = fictionalley.org, or Fiction Alley Park
  
  
• Flame: Very angry message, usually filled with insults, expletives and attacks on your race/age/sex/culture/sexual preference/brand of toothpaste. The more amusing ones have spelling errors and superfluous exclamation marks too, as the writer so violently dislikes/disagrees with you, they cannot seem to type properly. Best not to reply to these, merely laugh and continue with your day as normal. Nothing will annoy a Flamer more. Further definition linked above care of The Jargon Lexicon.
  
  
• Flame-War: Lots of Flames, from lots of people. A Troll's ultimate goal, a thread filled with completely useless, venomous posts. Further definition linked above care of The Jargon Lexicon.
  
  
• Flugst = combination of the words "fluff" and "angst." A mix of fluff and angst, basically. Coined by Facade here (although she'd been using it long before that ).
  
  
• *g* = Netspeak for "grin" or "giggles". Variations include *WEG*, *VWEG*.
  
  
• Gary Stu = an original male character who is soooo perfect.
  
  
• Glomp = an enthusiastic hug, particularly to greet someone
  
  
• Harmony = a name coined for the Harry/Hermione pairing. Coined by Mad Eyed Mike in another HP fansite. Read this for more info about ship names for Harry/Hermione
  
  
• Heron = refers to the Hermione/Ron pairing or its supporters
  
  
• H/H or H/Hr = Harry - Hermione romantic pairing
  
  
• HMS = see quote at bottom part of this message. See also ship.
  
  
• HMS Harmony = another name for the Harry/Hermione ship.
  
  
• HMS Muffin Love = another name for the Draco/Ginny ship.
  
  
• HMS PnP aka HMS Pugs n Pasta = the ship name of PK's very own Anto (username MyOb) and Pansy Parkinson. Captained by Ri. For more details, look for the latest Pugs n Pasta thread in the forum formerly called "Off-Topic"
  
  
• HMS Pumpkin Pie = one name for Harry/Hermione ship. See definitions for "HMS" and "Pumpkin Pie".
  
  
• HMS Red Moon = one name for the Ron/Luna ship.
  
  
• HMS Switzerland = see Sailing Switzerland
  
  
• HMS Thorn & Buck = another name for the Lily/James ship.
  
  
• HOAF = Hooked On A Feeling. A site many Portkeymates are working very very very hard on.
  
  
• HOAF Chats = Best to have an HOAF insider explain that. Term added here by Angel-Wing's request.
  
  
• HP = Harry Potter. The character or universe.
  
  
• HUTKAFHH = Harry Unable to Keep Away from Hermione’s Hand)
  
  
• IC = In character
  
  
• IIRC = internet lingo for If I remember correctly.
  
  
• IMO, IMHO = In My Opinion, In My Humble (or Honest) Opinion.
  
  
• IOD = Interview of Doom. 2006 interview with JKR. Note that some Portkey-ers don't mind this interview. (I'm one of them. ~gal-texter/Pen, PK co-admin 2008)
  
  
• JKR = Joanne Kathleen Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books
  
  
• L/J = A Lily - James romance
  
  
• LJ = Live Journal. An online journal.
  
  
• LMAO = Laughing My Ass Off
  
  
• Loffly = Lovely
  
  
• LOL = Laughing Out Loud
  
  
• Lurk or Lurkers = to lurk means to visit a site without leaving a comment. In PK terms, to read a topic or fanfic or to look at fanart without leaving a comment.
  
  
• Mai Tai = one symbol for the Draco/Ginny ship. Best to let a D/G shipper explain that.
  
  
• Mary Sue = an original female character who is soooo perfect.
  
  
• Mod = Moderator. A person who uses his/her great powers and considerable charm to keep a site fun and neat. *ahem*
  
  
• Muffins = one symbol for the Draco/Ginny ship. Best to let a D/G shipper explain that.
  
  
• MSN = MSN instant messaging program.
  
  
• MV = Man Veela. Hot, cute, eye-candy, good-looking. Coined by Facade. The term Man Veela was introduced here, in a discussion on the possibility of Draco being part Veela.
  
  
• Netspeak = acronyms and shorthand used in Internet communications, particularly in message boards and chatrooms. Example, "C U" for "see you", "b/c" for "because". Please keep netspeak to a minimum here in Portkey. Popular acronyms like LOL are all right though.
  
  
• OBHWF = One Big Happy Weasley Family. The theory that Harry would end up with Ginny, and Hermione with Ron, therefore making OBHWF.
  
  
• OC = Original Character. In Harry Potter fanfics, an OC is someone originally created by the fanfic author. OC's are not included in the canon books.
  
  
• OOC = Out Of Character. E.g., "This fanfic makes Hermione act OOC."
  
  
• OMG = "Oh My God" or "Oh My Gosh"
  
  
• OT = Often used to mean Off-Topic
  
  
• OTOH = internet lingo for "On the other hand"
  
  
• OTP = One True Pairing. ~Facade.
  The one that you like most, I guess. ~Pen
  
  
• Peeky = a cognate of PK-y (Portkey-ey): insane. Courtesy of Ri, Bec, and Faith. Ri tries to explain further in here.
  
  
• PK = usually refers to Portkey.org
  
  
• PM = Private Message. So "PM me" means "send me a Private Message". This is done by hitting the button marked PM on the recipient's forum posts, or by hitting the Send a Private Message link on their forum profile page.
  
  
• POV = Point of view.
  
  
• PPR = Peeky Posting Rate. The fast pace at which people post in the HMS P'n'P threads in the Off-Topic forum. Not as fast as the WPR, but it'll eventually. Courtesy of Anto.
  
  
• PTB = Powers That Be
  
  
• Pumpkin Pie = symbol or name for the Harry/Hermione ship. The full name is the "HMS Pumpkin Pie". See definition of HMS in the quote at the bottom of this message.
  
  
• PWP = Plot? What Plot? or Porn Without Plot. Many writers use this term to refer to their own smut stories that have no plot.
  
  
• Rec or Recs = Recommendation/s, esp. for fanfics or fanarts. Also refers to PK's Fic Recs Search Engine, Fanarts Recs Engine, Fic Recs forums or threads.
  
  
• Rec-Engine = Search Engine for Fanfic Recommendation/s
  
  
• Red Herring = any diversion intended to distract attention from the main issue
  
  
• RL = Real Life.
  
  
• R/L, R/LL, or R/Lu = A Ron - Luna pairing. But "R/L" is also used to refer to the Ron - Lavender pairing, especially in fanfics written before OOTP.
  
  
• ROFL or ROTFL = netspeak for Rolling On (The) Floor Laughing
  
  
• ROFLMAO or ROTFLMAO = netspeak for Rolling On (The) Floor Laughing My Ass Off
  
  
• ROR = Room of Requirement, a forum that originally ran from 2003 to 2005 exclusively for adult PK-ers. Reopened on Apr 23 2009.
  
  
• RPF = Real Person Fics. Stories that feature real people. (definitions by darkstar & tistytosty)
  
  
• Sailing Switzerland = being neutral as to shipping. Having no shipping prefences.
  
  
• SCUSA or FAP SCUSA = Self Contained Underwater Shipping Apparatus. A shipping forum in FAP.
  
  
• Ship = a romantic relationship. See Fandom Dictionary linked below these entries.
  
  
• Shipper = someone who supports a romantic pairing, particularly in fiction
  
  
• SS = see quote at bottom part of this message
  
  
• SS Fire & Ice = one name for the Draco/Ginny ship.
  
  
• TBH = internet lingo for "To be honest"
  
  
• teehee = a way to communicate amusement, not like a hyper teenager, and the word Anto and Faith will spread across all of PK and the world! Courtesy of Ri, Bec, and Faith
  
  
• Tissue Warning = when used for fanfics, it means the story would make you cry
  
  
• Troll: Someone who posts a message designed to fly in the face of existing rules and provoke as many angry replies as possible, known as flames; ultimately causing a Flame-War. There are different levels of Troll, intelligence and venom varies. When one appears, often another Member will appear to plead with other Members do not feed the trolls, as that is exactly what the Troll wants, and replying to one only encourages their behaviour. Further definition linked above care of The Jargon Lexicon.
  
  
• Troll Wrestlers Army or TWA = the people who welcome newbies in the "Wrestling The Troll" forum. Open to all. Not to be confused with the Trolls mentioned in the previous definition.
  
  
• UST or URST = Unresolved Sexual Tension. There's also an excellent explanation here for people who understand Tagalog and Filipino slang.
  
  
• *VES* = Very Evil Smile
  
  
• *VWG* or *VWS* = Very Wide Grin (or Smile)
  
  
• *VWEG* or *VWES* = Very Wide Evil Grin (or Smile)
  
  
• WAFF = Warm And Fuzzy Feelings
  
  
• WIP = Work In Progress. Often used to refer to fanfics.
  
  
• Wonk = noun. Someone who visits the Wonky Threads.
  = verb. To act Wonky
  
  After encountering many queries about this, I thought I'd add the following entry here and in the Wonky Glossary.
  The term Wonks first appeared in Wonky Thread 7, when I (Pen) said, "... It doesn't bother me that I'm twice as old as you, and more than twofold as old as many other Wonks ... "
  
  
• Wonky = crazy, insane, unusual, etc... Introduced by Kalie. Was also used by Hermione (in Goblet of Fire, Chapter 19, "The Hungarian Horntail") to describe a Quidditch Seeker move, i.e., the Wonky Faint thing.
  
  
• Wonky Threads = those hard-to-miss threads in the "Wrestling The Troll" forum. Also referred to as Wonksville, Wonky Land, Wonky City, Wonky.
  
  
• WPR = Wonky Posting Rate. The supersonic speed at which people post on the Wonky Troll threads.
  
  
• YM: Yahoo Messenger. Instant messaging program.

Here's a Fandom Dictionary, that includes info on how the terms "ship" & "slash" acquired their present connotations in the fandom

There is also an impressive searchable list of net lingo at The Jargon Lexicon.





There are some ship abbreviations in Fiction Alley Park's SCUSA forum.



Got more fandom terms? Post them on this thread!


Many of the following messages would sound redundant, but that's because they were made before I had edited this post on Jun 3 2004.

Most of the following posts are redundant now, as they were made before the glossary was compiled above. ~gal-texter 23Nov2003


Heya...... i feel really silly to ask this... but....

What does HMS stands for? And what this SCUSA board thing that everyone mentioned?! I'm still quite new to the Harry Potter Land.


cheers!

Im not quite sure what HMS stands for-- all I know (or think) is that its on boats like HMS Titanic or something.. and they use it because we are 'ships' hahaha!

And im not sure about the SCUSA thing either.. you'll have to ask someone else, because like you, im new to this too.

And by the way-- the quote in your signature is very pretty.. is it like a famous quote or something?? I think ive heard it before!

~*Amanda

SCUSA = Self-Contained Underwater Shipping Apparatus. Term first appeared on Fiction Alley Park.

HMS = Her/His Majesty's Ship. Broadly equivalent to USS.

I have a question to add. What in the world does OBHWF stand for?

hi, dreamin athena ! i'm a newbie (though i have been lurking around portkey for a really long time before joining), but i'd like to be the one to answer your question. consider this formula:

(h/g)+(r/h)+wf = obhwf

or:

(harry/ginny)+(ron/hermione)+the weasley family = one big happy weasley family

well, the formula basically explains itself, doesn't it? hope that'll do.

mrs. pepper

Yea, and the SCUSA is the place where you can register new ships.

Pretty much every ship under the sun is on the Master Ship List...although multi-pair ships are no longer existent.

Hope that helps explain what it is.

Amanda Rose

Thanks a lot guys....!!!!!

Nah, you shouldn't feel silly about asking questions like this. You wouldn't believe how many times I've had to answer that myself. And I've had the same questions when I first discovered the fandom. We should seriously set up a glossary for people who have questions like these.

just to let you all know...i had no clue what ANY of those meant! thanks for the information! Kalie you Rock with Newbies!!!!

Thank-you all so much!!!

i've been wondering what they ment...

again, thank-you.

Love Millie

1 Corinthians 13

It's becoming a pretty well known quote around these waters! I also like Shakespeare's sonnet 116 that starts "Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove."

Wow, everyone's quoting things! Argh! Ummm....Romeo, Romeo, where for art thou Romeo!!! Hehehe! Sorry I couldn't think of one! Hehe!

Ummm.... all the questions have been answered I see. Hmmm....now what to do....I know.......PUMPKIN PIE!!!! *Gets Pumpkin Pie out of the oven* Here you go!!

EDIT Jun 3 2004: I moved the glossary entries to the start of this thread. I recycled an old post of mine to make it start this topic.

this has been a huge help!

What does IMHO and IMO stand for??? HELLP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I feel special. The DLA, muffins, and the HMS Muffinlove are on the list... Shouldnt we add peeky? Teehee?



Faith

Hi, Faith,

I inserted DLA there shortly after Kristina explained it in Wonky. Then I added Muffins and Muffinslove after Kristina explained it in the origin of SS Fire & Ice thread. If you'll notice, I changed that other thread's title too.

What does "peeky" mean? If you --or anyone-- tell me what it means, I'll insert it in the Glossary.

Anyone's welcome to add more terms, btw. When I come across a term and definition on the boards, I add them here. As long as the word or phrase is PG-13 and is used often, then it belongs in the Glossary.



~Pen

EDIT: You want to add "Teehee"? Sure, 'so long as you define it for us. Isn't that a laugh?

Oh, how nice, Faith! You gave Pen Teehee and Peeky.

Might as well add one myself:

PPR: the Peeky Posting rate, used at the P'n'P Threads; not as fast as the WPR, but we'll make it eventually!

Anto

hello, im kind of new here so forgive for asking an obvious question, but i have heard the word "canon" being mentioned a lot. I was wondering if anyone could tell me what that means?

Canon is something we know to be true because it happened in the HP books. For instance, "Dobby is a house elf" is canon, "Dobby and Winky are married" is not canon.

Nielle,

EDIT: From this post further up:

ah that explains a lot, thanks.

hmmmmmm, what are those muffins about?
if you could please just give me a quick overview that would be just scrumptacular. Gracias, love for all,

Hello SecondBreakfast

I think you're better off looking here. Hope that helps.

- Nitya

That really did help, thank you much.
love for all, SB

Ummmmmmmm, *cough* I've always wanted to know... What does ROFL mean? I've always wanted to know, and never got around to asking.

ROFL or ROTFL = rolling on [the] floor laughing. I'll insert it in the glossary

An acronym I find that many people don't know AND should is OTP. To avoid disgracing yourselves as HP fans (Jennifer, Nielle) I suggest it should be added.

OTP = One True Pairing

done. ~Pen

Say wha? Everyone seems to know what "OTP" is and what it stands for but me. Please enlighten the poor fool.

Oh, and sorry for asking such a silly question in a new topic and all, but I didn't know where else to put it. Feel free to delete/merge.

Mod-Note: we have a thread for fandom lingo, which I'm merging this with It's already explained here; ~Szaranea 21July2004

Hey, I just wanted to know what PPIFTL is. Could someone tell me what it stands for and it's definition?

I've tried searching google, but it appears that the links lead me back to PK. ^^; I would gladly appreciate it.

PPIFTL? I never heard of that before. A quick search tells me only 3 forum posts (including ours) mention it so far. I suppose that started from one's person's member title, which reads "Founder, PPIFTL". I hope it's not derisive or anything negative.

Aurors: Another name for an H/Hr shipper, originating from the fake Moody's suggestion in GoF that they would both make good Aurors.



~Belle

Two more that pertain directly to fanfiction, which, interestingly enough, both have smutty connotations...

ABH: Anywhere But Here
A genre of fanfiction written in the present second person that aims to directly insert the reader into the story by almost exclusive use of the pronoun "you" as the subject of its sentences. Known to be very difficult to write, it is seldom found and seldom good. IMHO, naturally.

Ok, I know that i'm treading dangerous ground with this but uh...is there a cute "H.M.S" name for the Harry/Ginny ship? I was just wondering if there was one established for that....yah and if you want to tar, feather, and run me outta the site, that's perfectly alright with me...lol

I don't know if this has been asked before since there've been so many posts on this forum but I have two (possibly silly) questions. But since when you ask a question you're supposed to only be a fool for a minute (although I'm not sure that works with forums)...here they are:

o Where does the term "Pumpkin Pie" come from?

o Why the term 'canon'? What's the explanation behind it? >> in terms of origin

Thanks, in advance (hope I'm in the right place).


(Edited to rephrase question)

Hi Ellipses,

As for your first questions I would suggest you to read this thread: H/H - origin of HMS Pumpkin Pie & HMS Harmony, Which name for the H/H ship?, which is a history about our ship names.

As for the second question, well canon means a generally accepted rule or standard on which an idea, subject or way of behaving is based, it could also mean a list of books that are officially recognized as being the work of a certain writer; so you see the HP books are the materials on which we base our assumptions, theories and essays and our ships, they are also books that are the original work of Rowling. That is why we use to refer to books as “canon”.

~Mirtilla