Acronyms

A list of acronyms, initialisms and abbreviations of the NetHack community. Also look in Category:Acronyms. For nicknames and item class abbreviations like "?oGD" for "scroll of gold detection", see Abbreviations.

• AC: armor class – Usually called AC, and displayed as AC on the status line.
• AoY or "oY: Amulet of Yendor – Everyone wants it. Also called "the Amulet". The cheap plastic imitation is a "fake AoY" or "fake Amulet".
• ASCII: American Standard Code for Information Interchange – The character set from which NetHack finds those map symbols.
• BSD: Berkeley System Distribution – Once a popular operating system for the VAX machine, and the original platform for NetHack. Today "BSD" refers to the modern variants of the original BSD.
• BDSM: Probably an attempt to refer to black (or blue) dragon scale mail, in analogy to GSDM and SDSM. In non-NetHack contexts, or in certain jokes about nymphs or foocubi, BDSM may be an initialism of "bondage, domination, sadism, masochism".
• DSM: dragon scale mail – Without the color, if you remove the first letter from GDSM or SDSM.
• DYWYPI: Do you want your possesions identified? – The familiar message from the end of your game. Writing "DYWYPI?" is a way to imply that the hero died.
• E: Elbereth – In contexts like "Engrave E" or "Why didn't you E?", especially in IRC where participants remain too lazy to type Her name.
• FAQ: frequently asked questions – Many Usenet groups, including RGRN, periodically post a FAQ to explain the group.
• GDSM: gray dragon scale mail – Non-metal armor that provides good AC and magic resistance. Frequent wish, along with SDSM.
• GoD or [oD: gauntlets of dexterity – Sometimes an alternative to gauntlets of power in ascension kits.
• GoP or [oP: gauntlets of power – Common item in ascension kits, for boosting strength to 25.
• IRC: Internet Relay Chat – Online chat, divided into rooms called channels. Libera has a #nethack channel for spoily discussion.
• LRS: Larn Revenue Service – NetHack mentions the LRS when you try to drop or throw a negative amount of gold.
• NGPL: NetHack General Public License – Usually refers to the template {{NGPL}} on this wiki.
• NH: NetHack
• NHINRL: NetHack is not real life – Explanation for why NetHack does not always follow the physics of the real world.
• PYEC: the Platinum Yendorian Express Card – Tourist's quest artifact, and popular wish for other neutral characters who want to add charges to items.
• RGRN or rgrn: rec.games.roguelike.nethack – The game's discussion group on Usenet.
• RL: real life or roguelike – Usually in the phrase NHINRL. Some other roguelike games have RL in their names.
• S or S'EM: SLASH'EM – An "S" in the subject line of RGRN posts may indicate that the post is about SLASH'EM.
• SDSM: silver dragon scale mail – Non-metal armor that provides good AC and reflection. Frequent wish, along with GDSM.
• TDTTOE: The DevTeam Thinks of Everything – The expression for when you try something strange in NetHack, and the game reacts appropriately.
• unihorn: unicorn horn – Important cure. A cursed unihorn is unhelpful for that, but a spare unihorn may help.
• WoW or /oW: wand of wishing – Everyone wants this. The WoW in the Castle is usually termed the "castle wand".
• WoY: Wizard of Yendor – More frequently terms for him are "Rodney" or "the Wizard". The WoY wants the AoY.
• YA...: yet another...
  • YAAD: Yet Another Annoying Death – Alternative to YASD, when the annoyed player blames the game, not a player's mistake, for the death of the hero.
  • YAAP: Yet Another Ascension Post – A post to RGRN announcing that a player won the game.
  • YAFAP: Yet Another First Ascension Post – A post to RGRN announcing a player's first win.
  • YAFM: Yet Another Funny Message – Because you did not expect the message, but TDTTOE.
  • YANC: Yet Another Newt Comic – A Dudley's dungeon strip in which a newt appears and scares (and usually kills) Dudley.
  • YANI: Yet Another New Idea – A muse to add some feature to NetHack.
  • YASD: Yet Another Stupid Death – A mistake that causes the death of the hero.