Abstract The article is dedicated to the study of ludic de-abbreviation, backronymization, or, alternatively, humorous decoding of the well-known abbreviations (which usually serve as names for political parties, countries, universities, and so on).A brief Watch Case + Bands survey of the existing research is provided.Then, despite the fact that de-abbreviation was considered characteristic of the Soviet period, now almost extinct, the author focuses on a case study based on contemporary material, which proves that de-abbreviation is still popular and productive for name-giving.As soon as an abbreviation 30" Electric Range for the name of Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, used by the police for safety reasons, appeared in press (2012), it immediately caused dozens of ludic de-abbreviations suggesting alternative names for him.
The article focuses on the mechanisms of these renaming de-abbreviations as well as the reasons that caused their peculiarities and multiplicity.