This dictionary is two things in one: an alphabetical compilation of acronyms and abbreviations together with their full forms and an inverted index, which gives the user thematic access to the information contained in the data base. The more than 13.000 entries are an attempt to lighten the burden of language teachers and applied linguists, translators and interpreters, librarians and administrators, whose job it is to mediate in and between language communities in daily or intermittent contact with the scourge of acronyms and abbreviations. A range of additional features distinguishes this dictionary from its competitors: More than 1200 addresses (if the acronym stands for an organization/institution); more than 3000 bibliographic references to the concepts behind the short forms; ample crossreferencing to related entries; a listing of new word coinages on the basis of acronyms.