Gramogram
A gramogram or grammagram is a letter or group of letters which can be pronounced to form one or more words, as in "CU" for "see you".[1][2][3] They are a subset of rebuses, and are commonly used as abbreviations.
They are sometimes used as a component of cryptic crossword clues.[1]
Examples
Words
- 1: won
- 2: to, too
- 22: tutu
- 3:[footnote 1] tree
- 4: for, fore
- 4M: forum (forced)
- 4T: forty
- 6T: sixty
- 7T: seventy
- 8: ate, hate (forced)
- 8T: eighty
- 9T: ninety
- &: and, end (forced)
- AT: eighty
- B: be, bee
- B2: beat you (forced)
- B4: before
- B8: bait, bate
- B9: benign
- BD: beady
- BTU: beat you (forced)
- BUT: beauty
- B&: band, banned
- C: see, sea
- CD: seedy
- CL: seal
- CT: city (forced)
- C&: canned
- D: the, thee (forced)
- D4M: deform (forced)
- D8: date
- DK: decay
- DL: deal
- DV&: deviant (forced)
- DVS: devious
- D&D/D&E: dandy
- D@: that (forced), dat
- EU: eww (in context)
- EZ:[footnote 2] easy, like in E-ZPass and 1040EZ
- F: have (forced, in context)
- F8: fate
- FEKC: efficacy
- FMN8: effeminate (forced)
- FND: effendi
- FNS: finesse
- FRE1: everyone (forced)
- FRE: every (forced)
- FX: effects, affects
- FXN: affection
- FXN8: affectionate (forced)
- F&: fanned
- F@: fat
- F@N: fatten
- GR8: great
- H8: hate
- H&: hand
- H@: hat
- I: I, eye, aye
- IC: icy, I see
- II: aye-aye
- IV: ivy
- JL: jail
- JQZ:[footnote 2] jacuzzi
- K9: canine
- KL: kale
- KMN: Caiman, Cayman
- KND: candy (forced)
- K&D/K&E: candy
- K@: cat
- L: well (forced)
- L8: late
- LI: ally
- LO:[footnote 1] hello
- LRG: allergy
- L&: land
- M: am
- MN: Oman (forced)
- MN8: emanate
- MT: empty
- M8: mate
- M8E/M8T: matey
- M&: manned
- N: and, an
- N4M: inform (forced)
- NDR:[footnote 1] India (forced)
- NDN: Indian
- NDNR:[footnote 1] Indiana (forced)
- NE: any
- NE1: anyone
- NGL: angel (forced)
- NMA: anime (forced)
- NME: enemy
- NML: animal
- NMNE: anemone
- NRG: energy
- NRK: anarchy
- NTD/NTT: entity
- NV: envy
- NVS: envious
- O: oh, owe
- OBDNC: obediency
- ODS: odious
- OPM: opium
- OR: or, oar (forced)
- P: pea, pee
- PL: peel
- PNE: peony
- PT: pity
- P&: panned
- Q8: Kuwait
- Q8E/QAT: Qu'aiti
- Q: cue, queue
- QT: cutie
- R: are, ar, arr
- R8: rate
- RA: array
- RKDN: arcadian
- RST: arrestee
- RT: arty
- S&: sand
- S: is (forced, in context)
- SA: essay
- SKP: escapee
- T: tea, tee
- TDS: tedious
- T&: tanned
- U: you, ewe, yew
- UL: you all (forced), Yule
- W8: wait, weight
- X: ex, eggs
- XI: Act Sci (forced, colloquial shorthand for Actuarial Science)
- XL: excel
- XLNC: excellency
- XLR8: accelerate
- XPDNC: expediency
- XS: excess, exes, Axis (forced)
- Y: why
- YL: while
- YT: whitey
- Z:[footnote 3] said
- ZT:[footnote 2] ziti
Names
- 1: Juan (forced)
- 2B: Tubi
- 8N: Aiden
- AV: Avie
- BRB: Barbie (forced)
- BT: Betty
- CC: Cece
- DDD:[footnote 4] Dedede
- DN: Dean
- FLO: Othello (forced)
- GG: Gigi
- IN: Ayn
- IN R&: Ayn Rand
- IV: Ivy
- J: Jay
- JC: Jaycee
- KC: Casey, Kacie
- KLC: Kelsie, Kelsey (forced)
- KT: Katie, Katy
- K@: Kat
- LC: Elsie
- LE: Ellie, Elly
- LN: Ellen
- LS: Ellis
- LX: Alex (forced)
- LXNDR/LX&DR: Alexander (forced)
- M@: Matt
- ME: Emmy
- MLE: Emily
- MNEK: Emenike
- MNM: M & M, Eminem
- N: Anne (forced)
- N8: Nate
- N8O: NATO
- N@LE: Natalie
- NMNEX: Animaniacs (forced)
- ND/&D/&E: Andy
- NE: Annie
- OD: Odie
- R4: Arthur (forced)
- RB: Arby
- RE: Ari
- RT: Artie
- RND/R&D/R&E: Randy
- ST: Esti (short for Esther)
- T8: Tate
- T8M: Tatem
- Z:[footnote 5] Zed, Zedd
Prefixes
- B: be-
- D: de-
- X: ex-
- &I: anti- (forced)
- &E: anti- (forced)
Suffixes
- L: -elle[footnote 6]
- N: -in',[footnote 7] -ing (forced)
- R: -er (forced)
- T: -ty
Sentences
- FU: A few (forced)
- FUNEX: Have you any eggs?
- I8X: I ate eggs., I hate eggs. (forced)
- ICQ: I seek you
- ICRUOK: I see, are you okay?
- ICU: I see you!
- IMOK: I am okay
- IOU: I owe you
- IXL: I excel
- NUR: And you are?
- NUROK: And you are okay?
- OL: Oh well.
- RUCRES: Are you serious (forced)
- SNE1OK: Is anyone okay?
- SOCKS: ¡Eso sí que es! ("That's it!" in Spanish; sometimes erroneously translated as "It is what it is")[4]
- YRUBNAQT: Why are you being a cutie?
- 1NONE: One and only (forced)
In arts and culture
A poem reportedly appeared in the Woman's Home Companion of July 1903 using many gramograms: it was preceded by the line "ICQ out so that I can CU have fun translating the sound FX of this poem".[2]
The Marcel Duchamp "readymade" L.H.O.O.Q. is an example of a gramogram. Those letters, pronounced in French, sound like "Elle a chaud au cul", an idiom which roughly translates to "there is fire down below".
The William Steig books CDB! and CDC? written mostly in gramograms.
The suicide prevention charity R U OK?'s name is a gramogram, with supporters encouraged to text "R U OK?" to friends and family to see how that person's mental health is going.
A short gramogram dialogue opening with a customer asking "FUNEX" ("Have you any eggs?") appears in a 1949 book Hail fellow well met by Seymour Hicks[5] and was expanded into a longer sketch of phrasebook-style gramogram dialogue for the comedy sketch show The Two Ronnies, under the title Swedish made simple.[6][7]
The 1980s Canadian gameshow Bumper Stumpers required contestants to decode gramograms presented as fictional vanity licence plates.
Footnotes
- depends on dialect
- when pronounced "Zee" and not "Zed"
- when pronounced "Zed" and not "Zee"
- North America
- when pronounced "Zed" and not "Zee"
- only used for names
- depends on dialect
References
- "Cryptic crossword reference lists > Gramograms". Highlight Press. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
- "Grammagrams". Audrey Deal. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
- "Grammagrams". Wordnik. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
- "Correct socks". BBC Languages. BBC. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
- Hicks, Sir Seymour (1949). Hail Fellow Well Met. Staples Press. p. 183. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
- Brennan, Ailis. "Ronnie Corbett dies: Here are his funniest seven sketches". GQ. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
- "Ronnie Corbett Christmas return: Puns upon a time". BBC News. 24 December 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2021.