Abbreviations
| No. of Players: | 2+ |
| Type of Game: | written and spoken |
| What you need: | pen and paper |
Goal
To guess a common saying from its initials.
How to play
The gamemaster writes down on a piece of paper the first letters of each word of a common saying. This could be, for instance, a motto, an adage, a proverb, a quotation, or a book title. The other players then try to guess what the saying is from the initials alone. If no one guesses correctly, the gamemaster gives successive hints until someone gets it. The first player to guess the phrase correctly wins and gets to choose the new saying for the next round.
Example
Ava writes down the initials FLG. No player guesses correctly, so she tells them to think of corporate slogans. The hint is not good enough, so she starts to pluck like a chicken and lick her fingers. Ben guesses correctly with "Finger Lickin' Good," the slogan from the fast food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken. He then writes down OATGJIATTIATWSWIM and says it is a famous quote from a classic American film. They need another hint, so he says these words were spoken by Humphrey Bogart, and then minutes later gives them another hint: it was in the movie Casablanca. Connie immediately says "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."
Did you know?
According to Guinness World Records, the shortest abbreviation is L.A. These familiar letters abbreviate the Spanish name of Los Angeles when it was originally founded as a pueblo: El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula. This translates as "The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of Porziuncola." Abbreviating a 55-letter name to just 2 letters represents a reduction to just 3.64% of its original length. No doubt helpful for residents and visitors alike.
Guinness also lists the world's longest abbreviation: S.K.O.M.K.H.P.K.J.C.D.P.W.B. These are the 14 initials of the Syarikat Kerjasama Orang-orang Melayu Kerajaan Hilir Perak Kerana Jimat Cermat Dan Pinjam-meminjam Wang Berhad – which is the Malay name for the The Cooperative Company of the Lower State of Perak Governments Malay People for Money Savings and Loans Ltd. of West Malaysia.
Some place names are so long that they virtually beg for a shorter alternative. Take Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu. This is a hill located in New Zealand, and most of the locals shorten this mouthful to simply Taumata. This 85-letter word translates from the Māori language to "The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the slider, the climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his flute to his loved one." Fun fact: tennis player Martina Navratilova learned to pronounce this record-breaking word when she was 10 years old, which she actually put to use when she visited New Zealand many years later.
The longest one-word place name in Europe belongs to a large village on the Isle of Anglesey, Wales, UK. It's more popularly known in its abbreviated form as Llanfair PG. But visitors can see many signs (very long ones!) that hold the full name of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. Translating from the Welsh language, this word means "St. Mary's Church in the Hollow of White Hazel near the Rapid Whirlpool of the Church of St. Tysilio of the Red Cave."
Finally, there is Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff of Philadelphia, PA. Now, before you say that's not too long of a name, know that's his abbreviated name! His full name reads as:
Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus
Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorffwelchevoralternwarengewissenhaftschaferswessenschafewarenwohlgepflegeundsorgfaltigkeitbeschutzenvonangreifendurchihrraubgierigfeindewelchevoralternzwolftausendjahresvorandieerscheinenvanderersteerdemenschderraumschiffgebrauchlichtalsseinursprungvonkraftgestartseinlangefahrthinzwischensternartigraumaufdersuchenachdiesternwelchegehabtbewohnbarplanetenkreisedrehensichundwohinderneurassevonverstandigmenschlichkeitkonntefortpflanzenundsicherfreuenanlebenslanglichfreudeundruhemitnichteinfurchtvorangreifenvonandererintelligentgeschopfsvonhinzwischensternartigraum.
Which actually isn't too bad, come to think of it. Because if he ever needs to initialize a document, all he needs to do is to write down every letter of the alphabet, in order, with an additional W tacked onto the end. Kinda weird, but that's what makes life so interesting!
