TBR

Someone who is dropping a truth bomb on you may start or end their message with TBR (to be real). This means the message contains the person's honest opinion.

Often, people use TBR when they are retracting a previous statement or saying something that contradicts conventional wisdom. For example, your friend Paulie might send you a message that says "TBR I don't really like pizza." (In which case, you could respond with "What??? HOW???")

Booklovers use TBR to mean "to be read." A TBR is a list of books a reader intends to read "soon." Sometimes, a biblophile's TBR might also take physical form, as a stack of books lying on a coffee table, nightstand, or desk.

Many readers update their TBRs at the beginning or end of the year, to curate their reading list for the year to come. Others just add and select books from their TBR willy-nilly.

TBR means to be rude and is used to warn that an honest and critical comment is coming. It is usually seen on social sites, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

TBR is one of the more controversial acronyms because it is often associated with cyberbullying. The bullying commonly consists of users leaving comments on people's pictures criticizing their appearance.

A piece of writing that is TBR (to be revised) needs further revision. For example, a journal article may need TBR before it can be published. Or, a syllabus may need TBR to reflect a class's actual progress through course material.

Typically, writing that needs TBR has been sent to one or more editors, who provided feedback on that writing. While writers may be allowed to revise some pieces of TBR writing at their own pace, others likely need to be revised ASAP, to hit a publication deadline.

A matter that has yet to be settled may be listed as TBR (to be resolved). You're most likely to encounter this acronym in business or organizational settings, during discussions of complex topics that can't be resolved as quickly as hoped.

For example, in a record of a meeting's minutes, you may find the phrase "TBR next meeting." This means the matter in question is meant to be resolved during the group's next meeting. (Of course, if you have any experience with meetings, you know it's possible the matter will never be resolved ... )

Web domains that are TBR are "to be released." Most often, this acronym is used in regard to suspended .ca web domains, which are set to be released for new registration.

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) handles releasing and re-registering TBR .ca domains. You can view lists of upcoming TBR domains at CIRA's website.