FHB for Family Hold Back... there's not enough food for the guests if all the kids swoop in and eat their fill of their favorites (OK, not just kids!)

Oh jeez, I really thought we were the only people who had secret codes - glad to know we're not alone. Really common in our house is RTG (ready to go - can be a question or statement). We also use CDM (cash d'moola - as in "do you have any cdm?") It will be interesting to see what others use.

NBD: "No Big Deal" a way to communicate that the request or question is a no pressure sort of thing, optional, or action can be delayed until it's more convenient.

KIO!: "Knock It Off!" meaning that Mom is getting angrier and more frustrated by the moment and heads will roll if the misbehaving children receiving this command do not cease and desist whatever they are doing absolutely immediately, especially if I have to pull over.

TMI "To much information" as in when I'm mentioning to my kids that when Dad and I were in the shower yesterday, they pop up and say TMI as they don't want to even think of their parents ever naked together. (my kids are in their 30's!!)

Another one my husband and I have is a "thumbs up" which is our code to each other that it's time to go home from wherever we are. It's just a silly hand gesture that nobody else would notice but makes it easy when we want to leave and we're both in agreement that it's time.

I tell my 5-yo, "That's a DDT"... don't do that...
It makes him giggle, but gets the point across.

5 minute warning - be ready to go in 5 minutes or you will be left behind

"Public place"

That was the signal to my kids to get into the car quickly with no fuss and no dawdling. Standing in a parking lot with the car's back door open so I could strap the child into his car seat, I felt vulnerable to anyone who might come up behind me for some nefarious purpose, like snatching my purse. Getting the child to cooperate and get in quickly at least helped to limit the exposure. (Nothing ever happened, of course; maybe I was just too nervous.)

Sue

MIK -- More in Kitchen, which signals that more food is available for seconds if company is around!

Other than TMI, the only other one I ever use is FUBAR, and for those who've seen the movie Tequilla SUnrise, you know what it means. :-) For the others, I'll clean it up a bit: "messed" up beyond all recognition.

As for the EGR, I was wondering what that meant! I've spent too much time under the hood, I guess. I couldn't get past exhaust gas recirculation!! LOL

VC (pronounced vay-say). French acronym for water closet aka bathroom.

We use "door ready" to clarify the old "Ready to go?" issue. Door ready means you're ready to walk out the door this very minute -- have purse, keys and glasses, no potty breaks required, no "one minute!"

We say STAT! to our kids when they need to do something NOW. (Plus we are preparing them for med school at an early age..... LOL!). We say "TMI" here as well.

Another thing that makes us chuckle with our extended family is at family buffets someone will ask for a "fork and knife". (Now, say that fast). Someone will say "Pass me a forkin' knife", and we hand over just a knife and a dirty look. We are admittedly strange in our sense of humor.

When my kids were little, we agreed on a secret family password. That way if any person ever told them that their mom or dad had given that person instructions which the children should follow, they should ask for the secret password before complying (if they hadn't already run off screaming, in the case of a stranger.)

To this day, my grown up kids still remember that secret password.

Now that's one of the smartest ideas I've heard in a long time! :-)

Funny how some of the best ideas (usually that people don't think of) are the simplest!

I grew up with this yiddish expression: Zug gornisht: say nothing. or "Zognisht"! It means Be quiet, the kids are listening!

Of course I used it with my own.

EEM Eat Every Morsel, as in when we go to that Chinese restaurant/have our favorite home meal/take a picnic to the park, we EEM. Signifies great gourmand pleasure.

When the kiddos were younger, we've used "G.O.O.D." for many, many uses. GOOD = Get Out Of Dodge! Every now and then I hear it still.

At inlaws or someone's house and they really someone really wants to go home and leave for whatever reason. Or asking, 'Do you want to stay?' The child really wants to go, but doesn't want to hurt their friends...."But we're having such a GOOD time, do we have to go?" "We've had a GOOD visit." "We're having such a GOOD time." They can say it nice without being a pill or harsh.

Would you like more casserole eating at someone's home? "This is what I call a "GOOD" Casserole, but I really couldn't eat another bite."

Do you think this guy's nice enough to date? "Honey, have a GOOD time, but remember your curfew." Which she feigns an earlier curfew for some good reason.

What does everyone say when they WANT to stay or affirm their approval? They say, 'We're doing great! It's cool! We're fine! I'd love some more! Etc.

Hmm. Now that my kids are grown and gone, I spend a lot of time talking to the dog :) As a result, she has an unusually large vocabulary of words she understands and reacts to.

My husband and I amuse ourselves trying to come up with acronyms and code words for things that interest her.

Squirrels, for instance. She learned the word "squirrel", so then we started calling them Bushy Tailed Rodents. Took her half a day to figure that out. Then we called them BTR's. She got that one. Then ROUS's. (For all you Princess Bride fans).

She also is fluent in Pig Latin.

Oh, also in our home the word "Lobster" means somebody screwed up BIG time and has (expensive) amends to make.

What else. "Alas, Babylon" means something really terrible is about to happen. And "Que Mundo" is our sad commentary. What a world.

"Put a band-aid on it" means quit whining.

"Go-stay-go" said rapidly all as one word means make up your mind. We got that from our relatives in Hawaii.

My DH and I usually just nod at each other when we're ready to leave. We also use a couple of 10 codes (he's a cop) 10-22 for disregard, like should we 10-22 the movie if we are deciding whether or not we want to go. And then 10-9 which means repeat. When my DB and his family are arriving we usually just look at each other and say "Let the wild rumpus start!"

We have used FUBAR in the past and

RTFI is our usual...Read the effin instructions.

RTFI is our usual...Read the effin instructions.

We use RTFM(anual) too, and we often turn it around on itself and say the longhand, "read the Fine manual," to mean "get off your behind, stop complaining, pay attention, and don't expect me to do everything for you."

Another one is SOL, which is "Sorry [or your S-word of choice] Out of Luck," as in "You didn't RTFM and you put your new wool sweater in the dryer? Uh, I think it's FUBAR and you're just SOL."

My DH has just created the Fuschia Alert!

He's put it out because my sister just got her driver's license at the age of 54 and is driving on her own. Actually it's quite an accomplishment for her.

It instantly became our family code for any woman out and about by herself.