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This week I learned about RAS Syndrome. It’s a phrase that uses an acronym (or another initialism) along with one or more of the words that make up an acronym (or other initialism). One example of this is ATM machine. Since ATM stands for Automated Teller Machine, we really don’t need to add the word “machine” at the end of it. When someone refers to a PIN number or VIN number, that’s redundant, too. PIN is an abbreviation for Personal Identification Number, and VIN means Vehicle Identification Number. So why do we add the word “number”? Some other RAS Syndrome victims include: LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) Display, OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) Countries, UPC (Universal Product Code) Code, HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) Virus and DC (Detective Comics) Comics. Since RAS stands for Redundant Acronym Syndrome, the term RAS Syndrome is itself an example of RAS Syndrome.