by Jason Stotts
It drives me crazy when people misuse acronyms and initialisms, especially ATM and PIN.
The other day at a store, I cringed when I heard someone say “just enter your ATM machine PIN number”. It was all I could do to contain myself and not call them an idiot to their face.
In case you don’t understand why I’m frustrated, or you make this mistake yourself, let me explain it to you. PIN is an acronym that stands for Personal Identification Number. ATM is an acronym that stands for Automated Teller Machine. To say “PIN number” is to say “Personal Identification Number number” and to say “ATM machine” is to say “Automated Teller Machine machine.” See? If you know what the acronyms mean, then it’s maddening.
If you say this yourself, STOP! If you hear other people doing it, correct them. To me, misuse of acronyms is indicative of sloppy thinking and when people use them around me, I think less of them.