Social Media Minute: Big-A List of Twitter Slang and Definitions
Just when I started getting the hang of texting shortcuts and slang on my phone, I found myself having to decifer a similar string of shortened, twangled words to stay within Twitter’s 140-character limit. Here’s the list, so far. Please share your favorites.
@reply: The @reply is a Twitter update (a tweet) that is directed to another user in reply to their update. An @reply will be saved in the user’s “Replies” tab. Replies are sent either by clicking the “reply” icon next to an update or by typing @(username), then the message (e.g., “@MLTCreative I saw that movie too”).
b/abt: Short for “about.” This chat abbreviation is frequently seen on Twitter.
adventuritter: Slang term used to describe a Twitterer who is adventurous.
AFAIK: Abbreviation for “as far as I know.”
attwaction: Slang term used to describe an attraction between two users.
attwicted: Slang term used to describe someone who is addicted to Twitter.
B: A shorthand version of “be.”
B2BTOTY: Business-to-Business Twitterer of the Year Awards. The B2B Twitterer of the Year (B2BTOTY) Awards recognize B2B individuals and organizations for outstanding contributions in practicing, promoting, and/or enhancing business using Twitter. Vote for your favorite B2B Twitterer!
b4: A shortened version of “before.”
b/c: Short for “because.”
beetweet: Slang term used to describe a “hot tweet.” Usually a popular, trending topic on Twitter, that many users will retweet.
BFN: Short for “bye for now.”
bgd: Short for “background.”
BR: An acronym that stands for “best regards.”
Bird-of-mouth: Slang term that refers to the use of Twitter to circulate news and information.
Celebrity syndrome: This Twitter phrase refers to a situation in which a non-celebrity mistakenly believes he or she is a celebrity. Users with celebrity syndrome will not follow a significant number of Twitter users.
chk: A shorthand version of “check” often used on Twitter.
cld: A shortened version of “could” often used on Twitter.
clk: A shortened version of “click” often used on Twitter.
crank tweet: Similar to a “crank phone call,” this is a misleading tweet.
cre8: One of my favorite abbrieviations in the streams I follow. Often seen on Twitter, it means “create.”
da: Short for “the” (which apparently wasn’t short enough already).
daily twitamin: A slang term that refers to a tweet containing a useful nugget of knowledge. A “daily vitamin” for Twitterers.
deets: Short for “details.”
deja-tweet: The overwhelming feeling that you just saw that same tweet, from that same person, 20 minutes ago.
detweet: Used to describe a tweet you made, then deleted.
direct message (DM): Short for direct message, a Twitter feature that enables you to send a private message directly to a person you follow.
drive-thru tweet: A tweet sent by an individual while he or she is at a restaurant drive-thru.
drive-by tweet: A fast tweet posted by an individual while he or she is in between tasks.
drunktwittering: The act of posting on Twitter while intoxicated, also TWI
dweet: Slang term used to describe a tweet that has been sent by a user who is drunk.
eavestweeting: The act of eavesdropping on other Twitter conversations.
egotwistical: A combination of “egotistical” and “Twitter” used to describe a user who tweets about himself too often.
EM/eml: Shorthand versions of “email” routinely used on Twitter.
EMA: An acronym for “email address.”
emergatweet: A tweet sent out during an emergency when 911 is unavailable.
F2F: An acronym that means “face to face.”
FAV: The FAV action on Twitter lets you mark a person’s last message as a favorite message to be displayed in your Favorites Tab. To use FAV, type “FAV (username).”
Fail Whale: The Twitter Fail Whale is an image of a whale held up by birds and nets, indicating that Twitter has been overloaded or that a failure occurred.
Follower/following: On Twitter, blogs, and other social media sites, a follower is someone who subscribes to receive your updates. On Twitter, “following” someone means you will see their messages in your own personal timeline. Twitter lets you see all the people you follow and also who is following you.
FollowFriday (FF, or #followfriday): On Twitter, FollowFriday is a recommendation. It is used to call attention to a user’s favorite followers and favorite people on Twitter. When you tweet a FF message, you are recommending that your followers also check out the people you mention in your post. When you send a FollowFriday message, you include #followfriday in your update so it can can be searched for using that hash tag.
hash tag: A hash tag, or “hashtag,” is a way of sorting or filtering your updates for Twitter search engines. Users prefix a message with a community-driven hash tag to enable others to discover relevant posts. Tagdef.com and WTH.com can help define and locate hashtags.
ICYMI: Short for “in case you missed it,” the abbreviation may appear in a tweet that is a repost from the same person, just in case his or her followers missed it the first time.
IRL: Short for “in real life.” As in “Hey @martinehunter, i hope i get to meet you IRL.”
MM: Hashtag short for Music Monday, or Marketer Monday.
mistweet: A tweet you later regret having sent.
NTS: Short for “note to self.”
OH: Short for “overheard.” This chat abbreviation is used on Twitter, often in place of RT (retweet), when the user does not want to provide the username of the follower they are quoting.
PRT: A notation added to the end of a tweet, short for “please retweet.” PRT shows the user is asking others to retweet his or her post.
retweet: Abbreviated as RT, retweet is used on Twitter to show you are tweeting something that was posted by another user. The format is RT @(username).
TMB: Short for “tweet me back,” this is used soliciting a response.
TMI: Short for “too much information,” this is used to warn fellow Twitterers that they’ve begun to overshare.
twabbreviating: The annoying habit of creating twitter slang by substituting first consonants with “tw.” Several follow…
twacklist: Twitter + blacklist.
twaddict: One who is addicted to Twitter.
twaffic: Slang term used to mean “Twitter traffic.”
twalking: Slang term used to describe someone who is walking while they tweet, using a mobile device.
twama: Drama that develops on Twitter.
twamily: Twitter + family.
twamous: Widely known, or honored for an achievement on Twitter.
twebay: Slang term used to describe selling (or promoting) an eBay item on Twitter.
tweeple: “Twitter people.” Used to refer to or describe Twitter users.
tweet: Describes a Twitter update. A tweet is basically whatever you type into the Web box to answer that question, using 140 characters or less. People tweet personal messages, random thoughts, post links, or anything else that fits in the character requirements.
tweetaholic: The term used to describe someone who has a problematic addiction to Twitter.
tweet chat: Tweet chat is a pre-arranged chat that happens on Twitter through tweets that include a predefined hashtag to link those tweets together in a virtual conversation. Here’s a good list of tweet chats.
tweeter: Refers to a person who tweets (same as a Twitterer).
tweetroduce: Slang term used to describe the situation in which a user introduces one follower to another.
tweetsult: An insult lobbed via tweet.
twegal advice: Legal advice in 140 characters or less.
twettiquette: Short for “Twitter etiquette.” Used to describe acceptable Twitter behavior.
twewbie: Short for “Twitter newbie.” Used to describe someone new to Twitter.
tweekend: When you devote an entire day of the weekend to using the site.
twenius: A tweeting genius.
twendy: Twitter + trendy. As in, “All the twendy people are doing it.”
twis: Slang term used to describe a “dis” of a fellow Twitter user.
twitosphere: An expression used to describe the “World of Twitter.”
twittcrastination: Slang term that refers to using Twitter as a form of procrastination.
twitterati: Slang term that refers to “A-list” Twitter users.
twitter-ific: Short for Twitter and terrific. It is a slang term used to describe something terrific you find on Twitter.
twitterage: Slang term describing feelings of rage experienced as a result of a Twitter post.
twitterapps: Short for Twitter applications. It is the phrase used to describe any application that integrates with the twitter service. May also be called Twitter tools or Twitter add-ons.
twitterpated: Slang term describing the feeling one experiences when messages on Twitter become overwhelming.
twitterphoria: Slang term describing the feelings of elation one experiences when they add someone as a friend and the person adds them in return.
twitterfly: A social butterfly on Twitter. A Twitterfly uses the @ sign in many messages, showing they have a lot of Twitter friends to talk with or mention in their updates.
twittersona: Someone’s Twitter persona.
twittworking: Twitterers who use Twitter to network.
woz: Slang for “was.” What’s difference?
wtv: A shorthand form of “whatever.”
ykyat: An acronym for “you know youre addicted to…” that is frequently used on Twitter.
yoyo: An acronym for “you’re on your own.”
ztwitt: A slang term that means “to tweet extremely fast.”
Please share your favorite twabbreviations or twangs.
