You know NJ acronyms, but do you know these 50 famous ones?

Human beings love a good acronym. Whether it’s MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or DARE, Drug Abuse Resistance Education, acronyms are pithy and memorable. Hopefully.

When it comes to some, they can be downright mysterious.

Here in New Jersey, we have the unofficial term for a problematic New Yorker who invades our shore towns in the summer. BENNY. Its most common origin story is that it’s an acronym for the stamps on a New Yorker’s train ticket where they boarded on their way to the Jersey Shore. Bayonne, Elizabeth, Newark, New York.

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New Jersey programs and agencies love their acronyms. Like NJ SNAP. That’s for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Maybe you were hoping it would involve the bend and snap from “Legally Blonde.”

Then there was a New Jersey government agency so dreaded and so dysfunctional that people feared its very name. So dreaded its name was eventually changed.

The agency that could separate children from their parents was once called DYFS, pronounced DYE-fuss. It stood for the Division of Youth & Family Services. It might as well have been called Voldemort.

Beyond Jersey-centric acronyms, there are some very famous ones that you might only think you know what they mean. (OK, some on the following list aren’t exactly acronyms in the purest sense of the word, but it’s still fun.) Challenge yourself. Scroll through this list and see if you know the meaning of all 50 acronyms.

LOOK: Do you know these 50 famous acronyms?

This list from Stacker features a collection of the most common acronyms and their meanings. Popular abbreviations include establishments like ACLU, YMCA, ad the AARP.

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Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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