North Dakota Residents Are Secretly Googling These Texting Codes

If you’ve ever stared at a text message like it was written in a foreign language…you are not alone. Somewhere along the line, simple conversations turned into alphabet soup, and now many of us are just trying to keep up without accidentally agreeing to something weird.

According to new 2026 Google search data from Unscramblerer.com, people across North Dakota—and the entire country—are doing a lot of frantic acronym decoding. And honestly? Some of these are not exactly self-explanatory.

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North Dakota’s Most Googled Acronyms

Let’s start close to home. In North Dakota, the most searched texting acronyms are a mix of harmless, confusing, and slightly aggressive (looking at you, FAFO).

At the top of the list is WTM (“What’s the move”), which sounds innocent enough until you realize it usually means “What are we doing tonight?”—and suddenly you’re on the hook for plans.

Then there’s OTP (“One true pairing”), which feels like something out of a fan club meeting, and WYA (“Where you at?”), which is basically the modern version of your mom yelling your full name from the front porch.

Of course, classics like HMU (“Hit me up”) and SMH (“Shake my head”) are still going strong. Meanwhile, TS is doing double duty, meaning either “Talk soon”…or something much less polite. Context is doing a lot of heavy lifting here.

And yes, FAFO made the list—proof that even in North Dakota, a little sass sneaks into our texts now and then.

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America Takes It Up a Notch

Nationally, things get even more…creative.

The most searched acronym in the country is SYBAU, and let’s just say it’s not something you’d want to accidentally send to your boss. Right behind it? FAFO, proving Americans really enjoy learning phrases that come with a warning label.

Other heavy hitters include PMO, which has confusingly evolved from “Put me on” to “P---es me off,” and ASL, which now means “as hell”—a far cry from its old-school chatroom days.

Then you’ve got the everyday staples like TBH (“To be honest”), IMO (“In my opinion”), and NGL (“Not gonna lie”), which somehow manage to make conversations both shorter and…more complicated at the same time.

Are Acronyms Helping—or Hurting?

Here’s where it gets interesting. Experts say acronyms might actually be working against us. Research from the Journal of Experimental Psychology found that using too many shortcuts can make messages seem less sincere. In other words, typing “DW” instead of “Don’t worry” might come across as…well, not that reassuring.

It turns out spelling things out shows effort—and people notice that.

The Bottom Line

Acronyms may be fast, “cool,” and a little bit lazy (their words, not mine), but they’re also constantly changing. One day you think you’ve mastered texting, and the next day someone hits you with “WYO” and you’re back on Google.

So if you ever feel out of the loop, don’t worry—you’re in good company. Just remember: when in doubt, spell it out.

Or don’t. IDK.