The English language evolves just as fast as the technology we use to express it. And it appears that even the FBI needs a cheat sheet to stay up to date.

The agency's 83-page "Twitter Shorthand" dictionary was made public this week, offering readers everywhere a good laugh, and perhaps a better understanding of what their friends' 140-character messages mean.

The growing list of "about 2,800 entries" was part of a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request made in January by Jason Smathers via the website MuckRock.

Smathers asked for a copy of all documentation available to FBI agents, personnel, and contractors, regarding the understanding of "leetspeak," or online jargon in which users replace letters with other keyboard characters to form phonetic words.

"Leet," for short, is popular among hackers, though Smathers suggests it could be used by computer crime investigators, as well.

Five months after filing his initial request, and diligently following up with the FBI, Smathers received a very low-resolution copy of the agency's documents, which he posted to MuckRock on Tuesday.

The grainy type makes the catalog hard to read, and confusing for those unacquainted with typical SMS acronyms. FBI workers presumably have access to a more clear version of the list, which was compiled by the Justice Department's Intelligence Research Support Unit (IRSU).

"With the advent of Twitter and other social media venues on the Internet, the use of shorthand and acronyms has expanded," the document said, adding that this is an extensive, "but far from exhaustive" record.

Users are welcome to add new entries as they see fit, and the FBI promised to continue updating the catalog as more codes appear on social media. Terms like"::POOF::" (goodbye/leaving the room), "ALOTBSOL" (always look on the bright side of life), "GNSTDLTBBB" (good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite), and "WYLABOCTGWTR" (would you like a bowl of cream to go with that remark?).

"This list has almost 2,800 entries you should find useful in your work or for keeping up with your children and/or grandchildren," the agency suggested.

This is the second time the U.S. government has proven that it has a sense of humor. Early this month, the Central Intelligence Agency joined Twitter. Or did it?

"We can neither confirm nor deny that this is our first tweet," the CIA wrote on the micro-blogging site, garnering almost 300,000 retweets and more than 180,000 favorites.

Perhaps the CIA can help the Secret Service figure out how to detect sarcasm, then. In a work order posted recently, the Secret Service announced its quest for a social media analytics tool that must, among a host of other requirements, have the ability to "detect sarcasm and false positives."

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