Who are these People?

 

 

Madeleine Albright                             Polish Born 1st  Woman U.S. Secretary of State

 

Woody Allen                                        Actor, Director

 

Neil Armstrong                                     Astronaut, 1st man to step on the moon

 

Leonard Bernstein                               Modern Composer (West Sidfe Story) and Conductor (NY Philharmonic)

 

Barbara Boxer                                       Senator (Illinois)(Black)

 

Matthew Brady                                    Pioneer photographer (Civil War)

 

Hilary Rodham Clinton                        Senator (NY) former 1st lady

 

Walter Cronkite                                    First and most famous TV News Anchor (NBC)

 

Betty Ford                                             Wife of President Gerald Ford

 

Newt Gingrich                                       U.S. Representative (R Ga.) Speaker of the House until Dec. ’98

 

Brit Hume                                              Fox News Anchor/commentator                                       

 

Jesse Jackson`                                      Rev.  (Black) Civil rights leader/activist

 

Lee Iococca                                           CEO of Chrysler (former exec at Ford)

 

Michael Jordan                                     NBA basketball superstar w/ Chicago Bulls

 

Donna Karan                                        Coutourier?

 

Doctor Kevorkian                                “Dr. Death”  assisted suicides,  now in prison

 

Rush Limbaugh                                    Conservative “talk radio” host

 

Larry King                                             T.V. Evening Talk Show Host

 

Courtney Love                                     Singer

 

Charles Manson                                   Cult figure (mass murder group leader)

 

?  McGreevy                                         NJ Governor (resigned)(homosexual)

 

Dell Miller                                              Retired Senator (GA) (Democrat) Keynote Speaker ‘04 Republican Conv.

 

Michael Moore                                     Movie Director (Dem.) Fahrenheit 9/11

 

Rupert Murdoch                                  Media Mogul  (Fox) (Papers)

 

Bill O’Reilly                                           Fox News Talk Show Host , Author

 

Jackson Pollack                                    Modern US Artist

 

Condoleeza Rice                                   Nat’l Def. Advisor to G.W.Bush (1st term) Secretary of State ’05 (Black)

 

Jonas Salk                                             Inventor/Dr.  Polio Vaccine

 

Al  Sharpton                                         Lawyer, 2004 Pres. Candidate (Black) Civil Rights Activist

 

O.J.Simpson                                          Football star, acquitted of murdering his wife in year-long televised trial

 

Arnold Schwartzenegger                    Movie Star, Governor of California

 

George Soros                                        Billionaire,  Extreme anti-Bush

 

Ted Turner                                            Media Mogul (started CNN)

 

Andy Warhol                                       Artist

 

Noah Webster                                      Inventor(?) dictionary

 

Orson Welles                                        Movie Actor, Director (1939 radio hoax re. Martian Invasion)

 

Oprah Winfrey                                     Daytime TV talk/feature show host

 

 

What are these things?

 

Apple (MacIntosh)                                              Personal Computer, pioneered “windows” menu idea

 

Big Board                                              New York Stock Exchange

 

Big MAC                                               MacDonald’s Main Hamburger

 

Bourbon Street                                     Famous New Orleans location

 

Carpetbagger                                        (Civil War) travelled South to profit from post-war. Now used for politician changing state of residence for electoral advantage

 

Chevy                                                    Nickname for Chevrolet car (from GM)

 

Disneyworld                                         Mickey Mouse everywhere

 

Dynasty                                                 TV evening “soap opera”

                                                               

Fed-Ex                                                    (also DHL, UPS)  private package and expedited mail service

 

Fort Knox                                              Military installation in Kentucky where US Gold Reserve was stored

 

Graceland                                              Elvis Presley’s home/mansion

 

Ivy League                                            Group of prestigious private universities in New England  (Harvard, Yale,  

Princeton, Dartmouth, Columbia, Brown, Rutgers)

 

La Guardia                                             former Mayor of NY City (also airport in NY)

 

Macy’s                                                  One of the original “department” stores (after Sears & Montgomery Ward)

 

Mayflower                                             Name of the “Pilgrims” ship (Mass. 1621)

 

Microsoft                                              Gates’ giant computer software company based in Seattle

 

New England                                        Area of the N.E. U.S. originally settled by English.  N. of Penn./NY/NJ

 

Off-Broadway                                       location for new legitimate theatre openings

 

Oval Office                                            In the White House, President’s working office

 

Roe v. Wade                                         Supreme Court case invalidating state anti-abortion laws

 

Secret Service                                       Branch of the Treasury Dept. Responsible for Presidential protection

 

Silicon Valley                                        California area (S. of  San Jose) where micro-chip industry started

 

Sound Bite                                            Very Short (15-30 sec.) video used on News show (Statement or answer)

 

Super Bowl                                            Annual Championship of professional football (US) (last Sun. in Jan.)

 

Swift Boat                                              VietNam war Navy vessel, armoured/armed  John Kerry was in them.  Group of other former Navy men opposed his Presidential campaign

 

Wal-Mart                                               Largest discount marketing general (all) merchandise chain, started by

                                                                                Arkansan Sam Walton with single store

 

 

Abbreviations & Acronyms

 

Business and Finance

AT&T    American Telephone and Telegraph

ATM      Automatic Teller Machine

C.E.O.     Chief Executive Officer

C.O.D.    Collect On Delivery (Package)

G.M.       General Motors Corp.

G.N.P.     Gross National Product

G.D.P.     Gross Domestic Product

I.R.A.      Individual Retirement Account

NYSE      New York Stock Exchange

P & L      Power and Light

P.R.         Public Relations

R & D     Research and Development

SSAN     Social Security Account Number

S & P      Standard and Poor’s

S & T      Science and Technology

V.P.         Vice President

WSJ        Wall Street Journal

 

Medical

AIDS      Acute Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome

CPR        Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation

CAT       Computer Aided Tomography (w/ scan)

DNA       DiRiboNucleaic Acid

EENT      Eye Ear Nose Throat (Specialist) (ENT)

H.I.V.      Human Immune Virus

I.V.          Intra Venous

M.D.       Medical Doctor

MRI        Magnetic Resonance Imaging

O.D.        OverDose (drugs)

T.B.         Tuberculosis

 

Sports

K.O.        Knock Out

MVP       Most Valuable Player

SCUBA SelfContained Underwater Breathing Apparatus

T.D.        TouchDown

T.K.O.    Technical Knock Out

 

Military

ASAP     As Soon As Possible

AWOL   Absent WithOut Leave

CAVU    Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited

EOD        Explosive Ordnance Disposal

FUBAR  Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition

G.I.          Government Issue (now any soldier)

HMMVW  modern “jeep” (“Hum Vee”)

KIA        Killed In Action

MIA       Missing In Action

MP          Military Police

OTF        Over The Fence (or Hill) (AWOL)

POW      Prisoner Of War

R&R       Rest and Recuperation (Relaxation)

ROTC     Reserve Officers Training Corps (college)

SNAFU  Situation Normal,  All Fouled (!) UP

 

Famous Initials

D.C.        District of Columbia

F.D.R.     Franklin Delano Roosevelt

G.B.S.     George Bernard Shaw

J.F.K.      John Fitzgerald Kennedy

L.B.J.      Lyndon Baines Johnson

W.           “Dubya” George W. Bush

 

Police

AKA      Also Known As  (Alias)

APB        All Points Bulletin

CHP        California Highway Patrol

D.A.        District Attorney

LAPD     Los Angeles Police Department

SWAT    Special Weapons Assault Team

 

Music

CD          Compact Disc

DJ           Disc Jockey

LP           Long Play (331/3 RPM  record)

M.C.       Master of Ceremonies

R&B       Rythym and Blues

VJ            Video Jockey (?)

 

Used in letters

c/o          in Care Of

P.S.         Post Script

SWAK   Sealed With A Kiss

 

 

Miscellaneous

AP          Associated Press

B&B       Bed and Breakfast (Brandy & Benedictine)

B.O.        Body Odor

BMOC    Big Man On Campus

B.P.         British Petroleum

BYOB     Bring Your Own Booze (Bottle)

CET        Central European Time

DINK      Double Income No Kids

E.S.P.      Extra Sensory Perception

E.T.         Extra Terrestrial

F.Y.I.       For Your Information

G.M.T.    Greenwich Mean Time

I.D.          Identification

I.O.U.      I Owe You (note)

M.C.P.    ?

N.B.        Nota Bene

N.G.        No Good

P.C.         Personal Computer (Politically Correct)

P.D.Q.     Pretty Damned Quick

Q.T.        Quiet (“on the Q.T.”)

R.I.P.       Rest In Peace (resquiescat in pace)

RSVP      Respondez S’il Vous Plait (Answer, Please) TGIF        Thank God It’s Friday

T.L.C.     Tender Loving Care

UPI         United Press International

U.F.O.     Unidentified Flying Object

V.I.P.       Very Important Person

 

 

Political

C.I.S.       Commonwealth of Independent States

E.E.C.      European Economic Community

G.O.P.     Grand Old Party (Republican)

I.R.A.      Irish Republican Army

I.R.S.       Internal Revenue Service (US)

NATO    North Atlantic Treaty Organization

P.L.O.     Palestine Liberation Organization

SALT     Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty

WMD     Weapon of Mass Destruction (Nuc./Bio.)