ScaleTrains N scale bulkhead flats

[Dwight in Toronto]

What’s “TLA”?

[nickelplate759]

What’s “TLA”?

Three Letter Abbreviation.

There are also some related abbreviations:

ETLA  - Extended Three Letter Abbreviation
HETLA - Hyper-Extended Three Letter Abbreviation

[jagged ben]

That is correct, but I still don't care for McHenrys or Scale Trains ones.  Visually and operationally.

Oh I agree.   Although I can say the same about MT.  Got my hopes up for the N-Possible coupler!

Who is IME?  Doesn't Athearn own McHenry couplers?

in my experience

[C855B]

Three Letter Abbreviation. ...

In gov't and military circles, "three letter acronym".

Our son spent three weeks with us last month during his break between State Department assignments. He was rolling his eyes at the propensity for every agency he works with to have their own sets of acronyms you'd never figure out, most being of the three-letter variety. I told him after one, "Gawd. Yet another TLA."

He looked at me funny and genuinely asked what a "TLA" was. He obviously laughed when I told him, with "Yeah. I'm gonna use that!"

Raised him right.

[Philip H]

In gov't and military circles, "three letter acronym".

Our son spent three weeks with us last month during his break between State Department assignments. He was rolling his eyes at the propensity for every agency he works with to have their own sets of acronyms you'd never figure out, most being of the three-letter variety. I told him after one, "Gawd. Yet another TLA."

He looked at me funny and genuinely asked what a "TLA" was. He obviously laughed when I told him, with "Yeah. I'm gonna use that!"

Raised him right.

When I moved from USACE to NOAA I had this experience in spades.  And then we got a couple former USACE GS-15s as newly minted SES.  I actually wrote them a translator document for their onboarding books since I was the only NOAA HQ guy with a USACE pedigree.  Funniest writing I"ve ever done as a fed.

[nkalanaga]

For those confused by TLAs, as well as 2LAs and 4LAs, here's help:

https://www.acronymfinder.com/

I've had this "Acronym Finder" bookmarked for many years.