A third helping of alphabet soup

More awesomely bad acronyms from FP readers: Tiago Dias: May I suggest the Spanish GRAPO (Grupos de Resistencia Antifascista Primero de Octubre)? It sounds like a fruit (obviously), but also reminds me of Grappa, the Italian hard liquor. Joe Geni: I nominate JUSCANZ, pronounced "juice cans", and stands for Japan, the US, Canada, Australia and ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.

More awesomely bad acronyms from FP readers:

More awesomely bad acronyms from FP readers:

Tiago Dias:

May I suggest the Spanish GRAPO (Grupos de Resistencia Antifascista Primero de Octubre)? It sounds like a fruit (obviously), but also reminds me of Grappa, the Italian hard liquor.

Joe Geni:

I nominate JUSCANZ, pronounced "juice cans", and stands for Japan, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. I am not making this up. I’m a reporter at the UN and I’ve heard it used here repeatedly.

Demian Smith:

MOOTW: Military Operations Other than War

John Carrick, once again:

DFAT, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, is pertinent and poetically evocative. Trade commissioners create the surplus to import de fat. Diplomats deploy their skills as they chew de fat.

Jed Odermatt:

I always thought that RAPEX, the EU rapid alert system for all dangerous consumer products, was a name that was not fully thought through.

John Halperin:

The bus system in Kinshasa is aptly named:

Societe de transport urbain du Congo (STUC)

There were several nominations for SLORC, (State Law and Order Restoration Council) as Burma’s military regime used to be known. I actually think that’s an appropriately unpleasant name for a very unpleasant group of people.

Keep ’em coming. (Let me know if you don’t want your name posted on the blog.)

Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

More from Foreign Policy

Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.
Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.

Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America

The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.

Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.
Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.

The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense

If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.

Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War

Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.

An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.
An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.

How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests

And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.