Pardon my ignorance but.....

ddhartzell

New member
what does FTF mean? I have seen this along with FTT (maybe cant remember for sure) in many posts discussing failures. Any other abbreviations I need to know when reading here? I tried to search the forums for the meaning with no success.

Remember: there are no stupid questions. Go easy on the newbie.:o
 
In the case of failures, it means Failure to Feed or Failure to Fire, depending on context. When talking sales, it means Face to Face. FTE is probably the other one you saw which means Failure to Eject, as in cartridge case.
 
A few others you'll likely run into...I'm sure there are more...

IWB = Inside Waist Band (holster)
OWB = Outside Waist Band (holster)
SOB = Small of Back (holster)
BUG = Backup Gun
CCW = Concealed Carry Weapon (also refers to a permit to carry concealed)
EDC = Everyday Carry (gun)
OAL = Overall Length (handloading term)
RKBA = Right to Keep and Bear Arms
2A = Second Amendment
FFL = Federal Firearms License (firearms retailer)

Plus all the standard Internet acronyms...
 
ignorance

what does FTF mean? I have seen this along with FTT (maybe cant remember for sure) in many posts discussing failures. Any other abbreviations I need to know when reading here? I tried to search the forums for the meaning with no success.

Remember: there are no stupid questions. Go easy on the newbie.
It is a matter of laziness. This is one of my pet annoyances. People who are too lazy (or too immature...the young are into texting)to spell things out. If you do not wish to be understood, do not post. If you wish to be understood correctly, do not use these lazy abbreviations. What people write must go through a decoding process in our brains to be understood. There is no good reason to make the process more cryptic than the subtleties of language already make communication. Learn to type, do not use unnecessary abbreviations. Then folks will not have to struggle with what the heck we are trying to say.

Other wise, these forums will become as cryptic as the workings of computers themselves. For instance, Who knows what CRC means ? (Continuous Redundancy Check)
 
dahermit: You'd HATE it in the military then. I swear they probably have a whole wing of the Pentagon dedicated to making up acronyms for things, even if the acronym ends up being longer than the original! And of course, it has to sound 'cool' too!
 
If you must use abbreviations and because "FTF" can mean failure to fire or failure to feed (two unrelated malfunctions), I've long advocated using "FTFi" to indicate failure to fire and "FTFe" to indicate failure to feed. Said advocacy has met with little success. :(:)
 
"...do not use unnecessary abbreviations..." I'll hold while you hit or hit while you hold the posters who use letters(u is not a word) or numbers(neither is 4 or 2) instead the Queen's English, but not for FTE or FTF. Those are pretty standard abbreviations depending on the context.
In any case, WAEFRTB. When All Esle Fails, Read The Book.
 
I am with Dahermit when it comes to obvious laziness on the part of the speaker (person typing, in this case), especially when covering something intricate. On the lighter side, I burst into laughter when enlightened to SWMBO. You have to be seasoned to appreciate that one.

- JKHolman
 
FTF can also be an opinion of a certain European people

Thanks fin, now I have to clean all the coffee I just spit all over my keyboard! Good one.

I'm still trying to get my head around use of acronyms caused by a lack of maturity and laziness. Maybe another cup of coffee will do it. That's a head scratcher.
 
When on the range and someone next to me has a problem with their pistol, I find that a FTF is often followed immediately by a WTF? :eek: :rolleyes:
 
FTF, perhaps more than most of our acronyms is dependent on context.

If in the semi-auto forum, it's Failure to Feed.
If in the revolver section, it's Failure to Fire (see: strain screw)
If in the marketplace it's face-to-face.
If watching X-files, it's Fight the Future.
 
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