STAMP OUT RAS

RAS is an acronym. An acronym is a group of letters that stand for words. In this case, RAS stands for redundant acronym syndrome. Redundant, of course, means to unnecessarily repeat something and a syndrome is a sickness.



Acronyms are very useful and time-saving tricks. For instance, the acronym HOMES helps us remember the Great Lakes of North America; Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior. I actually love acronyms but it really bothers me when there is a redundancy involved. Here are some examples.



You can get cash quickly from the ATM machine. NO! ATM is an acronym for Automatic Teller Machine. If you say ATM machine, you are saying automatic teller machine machine. You should just say that you can get cash quickly from the ATM.



How about the HIV virus. No, no! That would be the human immunodeficiency virus virus.



How about your PIN number. Uh-uh! That would be your personal identification number number.



OK, does everyone agree? Lets all pitch in and stamp out the RAS syndrome. :)