If you’ve ever spent any time in forums reading about prepping, there’s a good chance that you were confused by some of the “lingo” and slang that preppers often use. I have to admit that I’ve had to take a minute to look up certain acronyms that I had never heard before on many occasions.
This article will consist of two parts. The first part will be commonly used prepping acronyms and the second part will be commonly used prepping terms.
I’ve scoured the Internet to find as many as I could so that I could help you make sense of the numerous forum posts that you might come across while surfing the web.
I know that there are other resources on the Internet for learning the prepper lingo but my goal is to add to this list continually so that it becomes the most extensive list available. As I discover new terms or as new phrases or acronyms make their way into the prepping community, I’ll update this article and add them at that time.
You’ll probably notice that many of the acronyms that have been adopted by the prepping community are military terms. While some are actually military terms, others are specific to the preppers. A few that are listed below are simple acronyms that you might find people using in online forums.
Prepping Acronyms
ABAO: All bets are off
ALICE: All purpose lightweight individual carrying equipment
APC: Armored personnel carrier. Also the brand name of a manufacturer of short-term backup power supplies.
ARC: American Red Cross
ASAP: As soon as possible
ATL: Attempt to locate
BIB: Bug in bag
BOB: Bug out bag or bug out bracelet
BOHICA: Bend over, here it comes again
BOL: Bug out location
BOV: Bug out vehicle
BOWB: Bug out web belt
BSTS: Better safe than sorry
CCW: Carrying concealed weapon
CB: Citizens Band Radio
CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CFR: Certified first responder
CM: Compressed meals
CME: Coronal mass ejection
COMSEC: Communications security
CQB: Close quarters battle
CYA: Cover your assets or cover your a**
DFO: Disaster field offices
DHS: Department of Homeland Security
DLP: Defense of life and property
DOD: Department of Defense
DOS: Department of State
EARS: Emergency Animal Response Services
EAS: Emergency alert system
EBS: Emergency broadcast system
ELE: Extinction level event
EMP: Electromagnetic pulse
EMS: Emergency management systems
EMT: Emergency medical technician
EOD: End of days
EOT: End of times
EOTWBFL: End of the world buddy for life
EROL: Excessive rule of law
ESP: Extended stay pack
FAK: First aid kit
FD: Fire department
FEMA: Federal Emergency Management Agency
FIFO: First in first out
FRED: Field ration eating device
FRS: Family radio service
FUBAR: F’d up beyond all recognition
FUD: Fear, uncertainty, and doubt
FWIW: For what it’s worth
GDE: Grid down event
GH: Golden Horde meaning looters and marauders that will venture out of the city into the surrounding rural areas during a major crisis.
GHB: Get home bag
GMO: Genetically modified organisms
GMRS: General mobile radio service
GMV: Genetically modified virus
GOOD: Get out of dodge
GPS: Global positioning system
HAM: Home amateur radio
HAZMAT: Hazardous material
HDPE: High density polyethylene – used to manufacture containers in order to take advantage of its exceptional protective barrier abilities. Most 5 gallon “food grade” buckets are manufactured from a form of HDPE known as HDPE 2. Make sure that any container you store food in is actually labeled “food grade” and not just HDPE 2.
HDR: Humanitarian daily rations
HEMP: High altitude electromagnetic pulse
IFAK: Individual first aid kit
IMHO: In my humble opinion
IMO: In my opinion
INCH: I’m never coming home
INCHK: I’m never coming home kit
JBT: Jack booted thug – according to UrbanDictionary.com, “overly oppressive and authoritarian individual or group, often denotes violent tendencies”.
JIC: Just in case
JIT: Just in time
KISS: Keep it simple stupid
LOS: Line of site
LP: Listening post
LTFS: Long term food storage
LTS: Long term shelter
MAD: Mutually assured destruction
MAG: Mutual aid group – people who meet for the purpose of discussing ideas and planning for emergencies in their area.
MOE: Measures of effectiveness
MOI: Mechanism of injury
MOLLE: Modular lightweight load carrying equipment (pronounced: molly)
MRE: Meals ready to eat – prepackaged food and water rations usually issued to military personnel but also often stockpiled by preppers and survivalists.
MSM: Mainstream media
MZB: Mutant zombie bikers – a general term used to describe thugs and looters.
NEMA: National Emergency Management Association
NINJA: No income no job or assets
NVD: Night vision device
NWO: New World Order – according to Wikipedia.org, “As a conspiracy theory, the term New World Order or NWO refers to the emergence of a totalitarian world government”.
OP: Observation post, original post, or original poster
OPSEC: Operations security
OTG: Off the grid
OTGE: Off the Grid Event
PALS: Pouch attachment ladder system
PD: Police department
PERK: Personal emergency relocation kit
POA: Point of aim
POI: Point of impact
POPO: Slang for the police
POTUS: President of the United States
PRD: Personal radiation detector
PSK: Personal survival kit
PTSD: Post traumatic stress disorder
RCS: Rainwater collection system
ROTFL: Rolling on the floor laughing
ROTFLMAO: Rolling on the floor laughing my a** off
SAR: Search and rescue
SERE: Survival, evasion, resistance, and escape
SF: Solar flare
SFWF: Shelter, fire, water, and food – listed in the order of importance according to the beliefs of most survivalists.
SHTF: S**t hits the fan
SIP: Shelter in place
SNAFU: Situation normal all f’d up
SOL: S**t out of luck or sorry out of luck
SOP: Standard operating procedure
SWAT: Special weapons and tactics
SWF: Short wave radio
TEOTWAWKI: The end of the world as we know it
TPTB: The powers that be
TSHTF: The s*** hits the fan
UN: United Nations
WROL: Without rule of law
WTSHTF: When the s**t hits the fan
strong>YOYO: You’re on your own
ZA: Zombie apocalypse – Usually used to refer to the chaos that people who haven’t prepared for a major catastrophe or natural disaster will cause.
Prepping Terms and Slang
550 Cord: Paracord
72 Hour Kit: Similar to a bug out bag – basically a kit full of emergency supples often carried in a backpack or some other easily carried container like a suitcase to help one person survive for a period of 72 hours.
C-Ration: Combat ration
Carrington Event: A natural EMP type of event, caused by a large coronal mass ejection (CME) of the sun.
Collapse Event: Any event that results in TEOTWAWKI.
Desiccant: A small package containing a hygroscopic substance that is used to draw out and hold moisture from the package that they are included in. Often included in food packaging to retain crispness and may help increase shelf life. People often mistakenly call these little packages “oxygen absorbers”.
Doomsday: This is a common term that many preppers use when referring to the day when a major breakdown in civilized society occurs which is brought on by any number of events.
Doomsday Prepper: Someone who spends time preparing for a major event that results in TEOTWAWKI.
Doomstead: Synonymous with a survival retreat.
Dutch Oven: Very versatile cooking pot made of cast iron. It is most often used for cooking on a fire instead of a traditional oven.
Faraday Cage: A shielding enclosure to protect electronics from electromagnetic pulses.
Food Grade Bucket: According to wikihow.com “Food grade buckets marked HDPE 2. Other types of plastic acceptable for food storage include PETE, LDPE, and polypropylene (PP). These plastics are represented by the numbers 1, 4, and 5 respectively.”
Force Multiplier: A capability that, when added to and employed by a combat force, significantly increases the combat potential of that force and thus enhances the probability of a successful mission accomplishment.
Freeze Dried Food: Food that has been dehydrated for the purpose of preserving it by freezing it in a vacuum.
Gamma Lid: An air tight lid for 5 gallon bucket style food grade containers.
Gasifier: A device that is capable of converting wood chips to combustible gas that can be used as fuel for an internal combustion engine.
Genny: Slang for a generator.
Genset: Another slang term used to refer to a generator.
GO Bag: Synonymous with bug out bag.
Hard Money: Money that is either redeemable into precious metals, or issued in the form of various precious metals.
Head: Slang for a toilet.
Heirloom Seeds: Non-GMO seeds that can be planted and replanted after every harvest.
Hydroponics: A method of growing plants in water instead of soil.
Isolated Retreat: A privately owned stronghold designed to be as self-contained and self-sufficient as possible.
Junk Silver: Coins that have little or no numismatic value but still have a high silver content.
Looters: People who haven’t prepared for emergencies who steal from others who have or steal from stores, business, vehicles, or other buildings.
Mall Ninja: Someone that values style and appearance over substance.
Marauders: Synonymous with “looters”. These are people who take from those who have supplies. Additionally, they may have intentions of tormenting people or harming them.
Martial Law: According to Wikipedia.org – “The imposition of the highest-ranking military officer as the military governor or as the head of the government, thus removing all power from the previous executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.”
Multi-Tool: A handy tool that contains many tools in one convenient unit – Similar to the popular Swiss Army knife.
Mylar Bags: Food grade bags made out of space age aluminum material which are used for long term food storage with the addition of oxygen absorbers or desiccants.
Oxygen Absorbers: Also known as “oxygen scavengers”. They are small packages that are added to pull oxygen out of a sealed container for long term food storage. This item is often mistakenly confused with desiccant packs.
Peak Oil: Used to describe a time when the world’s oil supplies will go into a state of irreversible decline.
Pollyanna: A person who is in denial that TEOTWAWKI could actually occur and yet they remain unusually optimistic, even when presented with compelling evidence to the contrary.
Power Grid: The infrastructure that is built and maintained by local power companies for the purpose of delivering electricity to homes and businesses.
Prepper: Short for someone who prepares for emergencies.
Prepping: Taking steps to prepare for emergencies.
Preps: This is slang for the things that preppers have stockpiled or things preppers have done to prepare to be able to survive a major catastrophe.
QuikClot: An anti-clotting agent used to stop bleeding fast but only when direct pressure doesn’t work.
Rations: Supplies that people will need and have access to on a daily basis such as food and water.
Retreat: A place of refuge that is prepared in advance by preppers. Usually in lightly-populated rural areas. Sometimes referred to as bug out locations.
Seed Bank: A stockpile of seeds to be used after a doomsday scenario takes place.
Sheeple: People who blindly follow the majority of a population and are in denial about a possible breakdown in civilized society.
Shelf Life: The useful life of product in home storage such as food storage or medical supplies.
Solar Flares: Similar to CME – an ejection of sun particles in the form of radiation.
Solar Heater: A device that is designed to heat a room or heat water by harnessing the power of the sun.
Solar Oven: A solar cooker is constructed of a highly reflective surface to harness the energy of the sun for the purpose of cooking or warming food.
Survival Cache: A hidden supply of emergency supplies – often stored in an air-tight and waterproof container.
Survival Seeds: Also known as heirloom or non-GMO seeds.
Survivalist: Someone who has taken the time to develop the skills and acquire the knowledge necessary to live through a survival situation.
Sustainable Living: A lifestyle where people do things to avoid relying on supplies from the outside world. This usually includes things like gardening, raising animals to provide food, hunting, fishing, and foraging.
The Crunch: Another term used to describe WTSHTF.
Troll: Someone who intentionally posts disruptive or controversial messages in an online forum with the goal of simply causing an argument or chaos.
Vacuum Sealer: A device that is designed to remove all of the oxygen in a plastic or Mylar bag that is used for the purpose of extending the shelf life of food storage staples.
Zombie: The name for the unprepared and often aggressive looters and marauders who will want to take what you have stockpiled.
http://preppersillustrated.com/1630/language-of-preppers/