Twitter terms are helpful for anyone who’s new to the platform or building a profile for their business. Twitter slang, however, is helpful to be aware of so that you can connect with your audience better. By knowing some common slang terms used in tweets, you can join the conversation with your followers without sounding out of place.
atm
Giving status updates is a common reason for many of the tweets we see on our timelines. As a result, you may have seen the acronym “atm” used in the context of something other than money. This stands for “at the moment” and shouldn’t be confused with an automated teller machine.
atp
Some Twitter users enjoy telling stories on their timelines and a transitional phrase used in those narratives is “at this point”. Of course, with just a limited number of characters per Tweet, users abbreviate words anywhere they can, so “atp” might take the place of that phrase.
BFN
If you’re having a Twitter conversation, one polite way to sign off is to say this, which stands for “bye for now.” It lets the other person know you’re signing off and that any further tweets may go unanswered for a period of time.
BR
Just like in email, there’s something to be said for social media etiquette, and “best regards” is another nice, commonly used sign-off when leaving a conversation on Twitter.
Canceled
Cancel culture has been around for nearly half a decade and it’s very popular on Twitter. It’s usually reserved for high-profile members of society like celebrities, politicians, and influencers. If these individuals behave in a way that disturbs expectations (whether reasonable or unreasonable) they can be canceled by “cancel culture twitter.” There are varying opinions about cancel culture.
Crank Tweet
Remember when you used to make prank phone calls? (C’mon, don’t be shy — everyone’s done so at one point or another.) Well, crank tweets are the new prank calls, except in written form. They’re misleading tweets, tweeted on purpose.
EM
This one’s simple enough: It’s short for “email me.”
FTW
When someone comes in to save the day on Twitter, they might get praised with tweets that mention them directly followed by “FTW!” This stands for “for the win” and is derived from sports games where the commentator announces the name of a player who scored the game-winning point.
Fub free
Fub free means “follow, unfollow, block” free. Some Twitter users add this phrase in their Twitter bio to let followers know that they won’t be upset or retaliate if a follower unfollows or blocks their account. This is commonly used for Twitter accounts that tend to post spoilers to movies or temporarily post content their followers may otherwise not want to see. These followers might block or unfollow the account for a period of time and return later when the undesirable content has ceased.
HAND
You should smile if you see this tweeted at you. Why? Because someone on Twitter is telling you to “have a nice day!”
HT
A “hat tip” is usually followed by someone’s Twitter username. Using HT means you aren’t quoting or retweeting them directly, but instead acknowledging that the user gave you the idea for the content you’re tweeting.
ICYMI
This acronym for “in case you missed it” can be used when someone is tweeting about big news or a trending topic a few days after the fact, or they’ve already tweeted about it. Searching “ICYMI” on Twitter is a great way to catch up on what you’ve missed if you’ve been off the Twitter radar for a few days.
IDK
When 280 characters is your limit, shortening words is a must. Thus, typing “I don’t know” is sometimes too long to include in a tweet, believe it or not.
IFYKYK
“If you know, you know” is a term used by people who want to maintain some exclusivity to their Tweet. An underground artist, a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, or even another acronym may all be adorned with a tweet that reads “IFYKYK”. And if you didn’t know, well now you know.
IJS
“I’m just saying” might seem redundant, but the acronym gives some tone and context to a tweet. Perhaps the user wants to introduce a difference of opinion to the conversation, or maybe they don’t want to be held responsible for the consequences of what they just said. Regardless, you might see “ijs” pop up on your timeline every once in a while from an opinionated Twitter user.
IMO or IMHO
You’ll usually see “in my opinion” or “in my humble opinion” when someone wants to agree or disagree with a piece of content they’re sharing. That way, the reader knows it’s opinion, not fact.
MT
This means “modified tweet,” which is a retweet that you had to clip to save space. However, it should still hold the meaning of the original tweet.
NTS
“Note to self” is a good way to mark tweets that you want to go back to later. It’s also used when someone is trying to be sarcastic or funny. For instance, I might tweet: “NTS: Pizza is way better cold — especially when it’s for breakfast.” (Which we all know is true, of course.)
OOMF
If you don’t want to mention one of your followers directly, but you want to say something about them, you might use the acronym OOMF which means “One of my followers.” This term can be used in a neutral way or in a passive-aggressive tone if you’re subtweeting your follower.
SMH
“Shaking my head” usually accompanies a tweet when someone can’t believe or doesn’t understand the content they’re sharing. It’s a total mimic of real-life body language.
Stan
If you’re familiar with fans of celebrities, you’ll catch on quickly to Twitter stans. These are overzealous and slightly obsessed fans of celebrities or influencers. The term is a combination of “stalker” and “fan.” There are mixed opinions about whether stan culture is healthy for the stan or the celebrity.
Subtweet
Occasionally, people Tweet about other Twitter users without mentioning them using the @ symbol. This can be done passive-aggressively or even in a flirtatious manner. There are two types of subtweets: overt and covert. An overt subtweet may still mention the person by name but without mentioning their Twitter with the @ symbol so that it is tied directly to them. A covert subtweet won’t mention names at all, but will instead give subtle hints about who the subject of the tweet might be.
TBH or TBQH
This is shorthand for “to be honest.” You may see a “Q” pop in there, for “to be quite honest.” (Fancy, we know.)
TFTF
You always want to say thank you, so “thanks for the follow” is a nice way to recognize that someone has decided to add you to their Twitter feed.
TMB
If you see “tweet me back” when someone mentions you on Twitter, they want you to literally tweet them back with an answer to or your opinion of their tweet.
Twitterati
The “Twitterati” is a group of A-list Twitter users that have a big number of followers and are famous in Twitter circles (and sometimes outside too).
Should your business use Twitter slang?
Twitter slang isn’t a good fit for every tweet, but just about every business can benefit from shortening a word or phrase to meet the character limit. Before you rule out Twitter terms and slang altogether, take a look at this list to see how you can make your statement short and sweet. After all, people want to hear from people, not brands, so speak like your followers do and start a genuine conversation on Twitter ASAP.
