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What does NRS mean? Social media slang revealed

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What the??? Find out what chat slang means

Can’t understand what your mates are on about when they use terms such as NRS, MMS or ESB on apps such as Snapchat or WhatsApp? Welcome to the club. I’m 45. Send me a dictionary and your finest ale.

Here, then, are what some of those commonly used abbreviations mean.

NRS meaning and many more…

NRS – Short for No Replies. Often used when someone is in a situation where they can’t easily reply, such as if they’re in a lecture at college or about to go to sleep and don’t want the phone pinging. I mean, they could just turn the phone off, but…

MMS – Not to be confused with MMS messages, which are fancy text messages with pictures (or multimedia messaging service). MMS in an app chat normally means Made Me Smile, which I guess is a downgrade on LOL (laugh out loud).

ESB – This is a Snapchat exclusive one and it means ‘everyone snap back’. This message normally comes from someone desperate to maintain a snap streak. No, I don’t get it either.

SB – Yes, you’ve probably worked it out, but SB is simply ‘snap back’, commonly used in one-on-one Snapchats.

SCM – If you’re on WhatsApp and someone asks you to SCM, they want you to ‘Snapchat me’.

SMH – This one happens a lot in my office. SMH stands for shaking my head, which is used to express dismay or disappointment. “You’re going to a Harry Styles gig? SMH.”

FFS – This one is a stronger expression of disappointment. FFS stands for ‘for f**** sake’. Don’t let me hear using that language in front of your mother.

BRB – If you need to leave the chat for a couple of minutes, BRB tells the other person you’ll be right back!

SMO – OK, it’s time to stop messing around. SMO stands for serious mode on. As in, I’m not joking!

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About the author

Barry Collins

Barry has scribbled about tech for almost 20 years for The Sunday Times, PC Pro, WebUser, Which? and many others. He was once Deputy Editor of Mail Online and remains in therapy to this day. Email Barry at barry@bigtechquestion.com.

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