3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Jargon  File  (4.2.3,  23  NOV  2000)  [jargon]: 
 
  TLA  /T-L-A/  n.  [Three-Letter  Acronym]  1.  Self-describing 
  abbreviation  for  a  species  with  which  computing  terminology  is  infested. 
  2.  Any  confusing  acronym.  Examples  include  MCA,  FTP,  SNA,  CPU,  MMU, 
  SCCS,  DMU,  FPU,  NNTP,  TLA.  People  who  like  this  looser  usage  argue  that 
  not  all  TLAs  have  three  letters,  just  as  not  all  four-letter  words  have 
  four  letters.  One  also  hears  of  `ETLA'  (Extended  Three-Letter  Acronym, 
  pronounced  /ee  tee  el  ay/)  being  used  to  describe  four-letter  acronyms. 
  The  term  `SFLA'  (Stupid  Four-Letter  Acronym)  has  also  been  reported. 
  See  also  {YABA}. 
 
  The  self-effacing  phrase  "TDM  TLA"  (Too  Damn  Many...)  is  often 
  used  to  bemoan  the  plethora  of  TLAs  in  use  In  1989,  a  random  of  the 
  journalistic  persuasion  asked  hacker  Paul  Boutin  "What  do  you  think  will 
  be  the  biggest  problem  in  computing  in  the  90s?"  Paul's  straight-faced 
  response:  "There  are  only  17,000  three-letter  acronyms."  (To  be  exact, 
  there  are  26^3  =  17,576.)  There  is  probably  some  karmic  justice  in  the 
  fact  that  Paul  Boutin  subsequently  became  a  journalist. 
 
 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  TLA 
 
  {Three-Letter  Acronym} 
 
 
 
  From  V.E.R.A.  --  Virtual  Entity  of  Relevant  Acronyms  13  March  2001  [vera]: 
 
  TLA 
  Three  Letter  Acronym  (slang) 
 
 

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