My apologies if what i am asking for is already here.. I think it would be helpful to new folks if there was a thread with acronyms and commonly used terms spelled out. I had no idea when I joined that what I thought of as a rail trail is commonly referred to as a MUP, I was just reading the thread about WalMart bikes and I'm completely mystifed WHAT IS a BSO please ??

MUP/MUT: Multiple Use Path/Trail (off road bike path used by bicycles, pedestrians, joggers, dogs, etc.

BSO: Bicycle Shaped Object. A derogatory term. I don't choose to use it. Usually a term for cheaper department store bikes.

LBS: Local Bike Shop

Why stop now? Let's keep this going...

NOS = New old stock. Great stuff if you're into vintage bikes.

Not all MUPs are former railroad rights of way.

Here is one for you: HTFU. Harden the f**k up.

And another one: ****. In before the [thread] lock.

WTF_ I have no idea what's going on with my bike, my riding, my life, etc.

Dirt Farmer has a bushel of good taste. N.O.S. is my favorite bicycle-related acronym!

IIRC= if I remember correctly.

Here you go:

https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycli...a-newbies.html


.

Never hurts to first do a general internet search - lots of acronyms and terms you find here are not cycling-specific, such at MUP/MUT.

While we're at it (hey, I didn't start this) an acronym is a word made up of the first or first few letters of a string of words that is then pronounced as a word. Scuba (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus), Radar (RAdio Detecting And Ranging) and words like that are true acronyms. Something like N.O.S. is not while DOS (from Disk Operating System) is. If you pronounced N.O.S./NOS as "noss" it would be, but you don't so it ain't; nor is DVD, LBS, BSO or any in which the individual letters are pronounced. Those are more correctly letterisms or initialisms.

Thanks for your patience.

RANS, by the way, differs in that it is not an acronym but a portmanteau formed by parts of the first and last names of the company's founder, RANdy Schlitter. A new word formed by combining elements of two different words, as is the word "smog."

Further edited to contribute something useful to the conversation, I personally like:
BFH, a hammer much bigger than the one you are currently using.

Fred.

Hmm, we traded all our BFH's in and replaced them with Darrell's Toolbox. Darrell is our daylight maintenance guy and any time there's a problem, he comes with what use to be a BFH and bangs on whatever material transfer line or control valve is giving problems and deems it fixed. Hence, since it's the only tool he ever uses (which never works and one of the shift maintenance guys usually has to fix it correctly), it is now called "Darrell's Toolbox."

Bicycle related... While most hobbies and activities people fall under GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrom) where one must constantly be acquiring new items for said hobby, ours is "n+1" which is the formula for the correct number of bikes one should own where "n" is the number of bikes one currently owns.

If Google is having troubles with it... perhaps add "bicycle" to the search terms.

Hey, it was useful information. Might come in handy to win that next bar bet, if they don't kick your a**.

And, RTFM.. Read the **** Manual

From a couple of other forums for Vanagons and motorcycles, terms especially useful for dealing with older, more experienced objects.
PO: Previous Owner. No judgement implied.
DPO: Dreaded Previous Owner. Judgement definitely implied.

Fred
1) n. a person who spends a lot of money on his bike and clothing, but still can't ride. "What a fred -- too much Lycra and titanium and not enough skill." Synonym for poser. Occasionally called a "barney".

2) n. a person who has a mishmash of old gear, does't care at all about technology or fashion, didn't race or follow racing, etc. Often identified by chainring marks on white calf socks. Used by "serious" roadies to disparage utility cyclists and touring riders, especially after these totally unfashionable "freds" drop the "serious" roadies on hills because the "serious" guys were really posers. This term is from road touring and, according to popular myth, "Fred" was a well-known grumpy old touring rider, who really was named Fred.

Per BicycleSource.com

I personally feel the term came from the exploits of Fred Birchmore. Who passed away in 2012 at the age of 101.

Some great reading if you Google his name.

Fred Birchmore?s Amazing Bicycle Trip Around the World | History | Smithsonian

MAMIL - Middle Aged Man in Lycra


We had a foreign born manager who did not understand the acronym "SOL" when used in her staff meeting. We quickly came up with "Sadly Out of Luck" to avoid an HR worthy discussion. Similarly, "WTF" became "What's this for?". Sorry, Ling, I'm sure at some point your kids set you straight.

That was awesome

Read as Freds getting dropped by Freds

Yeah Freds come in Flavors.

poser-freds getting dropped by uncool-freds.

JRA: Just Riding Along. Anyone who has worked in a shop is familiar with this one.

"So, dude, how did you happen to get purple pantyhose so tangled up in your drivetrain that you ripped the rear derailleur off and twisted it around your handlebars?"

"Well, I was just riding along..."

I thought there was a psychological term for pervs who like to sniff women's bike saddles, but I can't find it on Google. Perhaps there is none?

I think we'd all be ok without having that added to the list.

"Dirt Farmer" seems about as good as any. So who's going to post the urban dictionary entry?