Alternative meanings to some common abbreviations...

In Singapore, we have many abbreviations such as PWD, HDB, PUB, CPF to name just a few. I think PWD is no longer in use. Over the years, due to the different perceptions held by different people here, these abbreviations have been given alternative meanings.

PWD stands for Public Works Department, but it was perceived as Purposely Want to Dig (PWD) because sometimes, for reasons unknown to the public, the department seemed to be carrying out frequent digging work on and along the roads all over the city-state.

HDB stands for Housing and Development Board, but in the early days, many of these public housing flats seemed to have many defects and so people thought they were Houses Done Badly (HDB).

PUB stands for Public Utilities Board but many users find that the utilities rates are too high and paying the utilities bills has always been a great financial burden and many "Pay Until Broke" (PUB).

What about CPF? It is the Central Provident Fund which is a social security nest egg for Singaporeans. A certain percentage of the workers' salaries has to be deducted in a compulsory manner and deposited into the CPF accounts, many people didn't quite like the idea and so, CPF was emotionally perceived as "Curi People's Fund". Curi means steal in the Malay Language.

All these perceptions just reflect the sentiments of people on the ground and to a certain extent, the creativity of Singaporeans in giving different meanings to those abbreviations. As to how true they are, to each his own.