Ever heard or read of the term LMAO? Or are you confused whenever you receive this word in your text message or comment section on your Facebook or Instagram account? LMAO is just fun and is hilarious.
Upon its first use in the early 1990s, LMAO (Laughing my Ass Off) has been used to describe something funny and hilarious. It is not an official English abbreviation but is widely accepted in the social media world.
Whenever you see the term LMAO, it signifies a great hype about something funny that one couldn’t just express in mere words, but with extreme description. Nonetheless, its use in formal writing and addressing dignitaries should be avoided.
Table of Contents
Background
LMAO, or translated as “Laughing my Ass Off” is a slang used by many millennials. It’s a form of expression on account of something queer in a sense where a normal descriptive phrase is just an understatement to what one wants to say. It is an informal way to say your extreme fascination over something unexpected that it hits you right in your brain.
Along with other slangs, LMAO is commonly seen in social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest.
Whenever viral posts worldwide storm the social media universe, you often see this term on videos or pictures of known subjects who accidentally faced the inevitable miserable things in their lives.
Hilarious Feelings and Comedy
From cats goofing around with dogs to a president thrown over with a shoe (not to mention who), or a senator who rants like an artillery gun, one couldn’t help but use the term LMAO to describe these hilarious acts.
Because of technological advancement, people nowadays are more acquainted with the use of electronic gadgets in terms of message delivery than in writing. Mails have become obsolete and the social media world has become the medium of communication.
The Deal With Slangs
In connection with, people became more exposed to various slangs used on the internet and have adopted the use of these words to comment about something they find fascinating. Because of this, terms like LMAO, LOL, ROFL, LQTM, LSMH, and LMHO are used to express laughter.
Like LMAO, LOL (Laughing out Loud) is another way of saying that one finds something funny. It is more decent, if not, less hysterical than that of LMAO. ROFL on the other hand means “Rolling on the Floor Laughing” is more intense but not as offensive as it sounds like the meaning of LMAO.
LQTM or “Laughing Quietly to Myself” is a more decent way of expressing laughter, while LSMH (Laughing & Shaking my Head) and LMHO (Laughing my Head Off) is less offensive than LMAO in terms of expression to laughter.
Where did it come from?
However, on the account of using LMAO whose meaning is translated to “Laughing my Ass Off”, its history dates back to the 1950s wherein it was first used in J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” novel where the main character, Holden Caulfield, described his reaction after his great Dane and her puppies crashed a dinner party. Since then, the term has been used to express something hilarious.
The birth of social media has paved the way for the metamorphosis of acronyms that convey the expression of an individual. Words like LOL and LMAO denote the expression of laughter.
Other Acronyms
Some other terms like IKR (I Know Right) and OMG (Oh my God) are commonly used daily. The development of abbreviated terms has now been adopted even by those born at a much later time than the millennials.
Internet slang (or also called internet shorthand, netspeak, cyberslang, digispeak, or chatspeak) refers to the vast number of newly-created words that circulate the net. These words are not standardized because of the constant discovery of terms that this generation would think sound nice.
But the sole purpose of these abbreviated terms is not about sounding cool or for the justification of being unique from others but to save time and effort in keystrokes.
Back in the early years where mobile phones were first invented, text messages used to cost a lot and had only a limited number of characters. To save keystrokes or to adjust to the limited number of characters, people tried to exemplify and use short sentences or phrases, thus, the birth of abbreviated terms.
Just like LMAO, other phrases made into shortcuts transcend the norms of formal written language. A time will come that these abbreviations will soon be accepted and formally used.
Likewise, being “in” with today’s trend is established and people adjust to succumb to the “new normal” to fit in. You don’t need to be a millennial or think like one, but the truth is, almost everyone is acquainted with the use of these slangs.
In today’s era, millennials have a unique form of language, one that differs from the norm of society. The birth of new words used to express the outlook over something has now become a trend.
To sum up, LMAO and other internet slang like LOL, ROFL, LQTM, LSMH, and LMHO are now widely used not only in social media sites but also in communication. The expression of laughter using these terms has now become a norm. Although these words are not yet grammatically accepted, you can see them often used in normal communication.
The use of these cyber slang must always be used carefully especially in addressing formal events as this may deliver rather offensive feedback from those who are not familiar with it.
Furthermore, use these terms with caution and as much as possible, only to those who are close with you and if not, to the general public. Should you intend to address these expressions to an individual, always bear in mind that some of these words sound offensive and might not be acceptable to the person you are addressing it with.
Nonetheless, the use of these words has made typing a lot easier and saves keyspace for other details you wish to say. It may be an informal way of saying things, but to others, it makes you feel cool and “in” to the present norms of this society.
