Is there an acronym/abreviation/etc glossary? So confused...

[8.Lug]

What the heck is a BGS? And I think I just saw an Exit sign called a gore?

[GaryV]

BGS?

Big Green Sign

gore?

Remember that guy who invented the internet?  His dad invented the gore.  (Just kidding - but Al Gore Sr. was instrumental in getting the Interstate bill passed.)

One of the lesser known definitions of gore is "a triangular tract of land, especially one lying between larger divisions."  So the exit sign isn't the gore, but the point of land on which it stands is.

[jeffandnicole]

The exact definition probably will vary based on who you talk with, but the striped area here is generally known as a gore area: https://goo.gl/maps/GWbqBYvJUnF2

[Jim]

It does take some time to get used to all of the acronyms, abbreviations, and general terminology.  Even having been on here for years and having figured out much of it, there was a discussion a couple months ago about "APL signs" that I couldn't figure out, so I asked.  It's an "Arrow Per Lane" sign.  Usually I can figure it out from context, but not that one.

I know it hasn't been updated in many years, but the misc.transport.road (the Usenet group occasionally referred to here as "MTR", another one of those acronyms newcomers might not know) FAQ still has a good list of common terms and abbreviations.  Here's where Google found a copy of that for me:

http://www.roadfan.com/mtrfaq.html

[SignGeek101]

Talk about someone writing a glossary has been circulating for awhile now. Maybe when I'm bored, I'll do it myself.

FHWA = 1. Federal Highway Administration 2.Highway Gothic (common to say FHWA or FHWA fonts)
Clearview = A typeface given interim approval by the FHWA in 2004, since dropped in 2016
Gore = Road surface immediately before an exit on a freeway. An exit sign (EXIT) with an upward arrow is positioned at the gore.
Pullthrough = A sign used to reinforce lanes that go "through" Example: https://goo.gl/maps/FjDr24Nn43v (sign on the left, gore where white horizontal lines cover roadway)
Gantry = Truss used to hang signs on
Clinch = To drive an entire route (doesn't have to be all at once)

There are many,many, more terms. These are just a very small bunch.

[8.Lug]

Hmm, "clinch," now I wish I stayed on 90 the whole way to Seattle. Next time.

[andy3175]

Hopefully this will help:  https://www.aaroads.com/glossary.php

The AARoads Glossary always being updated, so if anyone notes an error in it, feel free to post about it. We may remake this into an FAQ format later on.

[kphoger]

FYI, most of these are initialisms, not acronyms.  Nobody actually pronounces BGS as "Bigzz" or OAPL as "Oapple".

[SignGeek101]

FYI, most of these are initialisms, not acronyms.  Nobody actually pronounces BGS as "Bigzz" or OAPL as "Oapple".

Lets not forget about SPUI (spu-ee).

Anyone got one for FHWA? (f-hua)? 

[hbelkins]

Lets not forget about SPUI (spu-ee).

We can't. He changed his name but he's still here. 

Anyone got one for FHWA? (f-hua)? 

I most frequently hear FHWA referred to in business settings as "Federal Highways."

[jeffandnicole]

Clearview: Alternate definition: The name of the high school I went to! Well before it was also known as a font.

[slorydn1]

Clearview: Alternate definition: The name of the high school I went to! Well before it was also known as a font.

And here I always thought of it as an expressway.

[kalvado]

Hopefully this will help:  https://www.aaroads.com/glossary.php

The AARoads Glossary always being updated, so if anyone notes an error in it, feel free to post about it. We may remake this into an FAQ format later on.

Small thing: DDI abbreviation is show both for "diamond intersection" and "diverging diamond intersection" definitions.

[FLRoads]

Hopefully this will help:  https://www.aaroads.com/glossary.php

The AARoads Glossary always being updated, so if anyone notes an error in it, feel free to post about it. We may remake this into an FAQ format later on.

Small thing: DDI abbreviation is show both for "diamond intersection" and "diverging diamond intersection" definitions.

It's been corrected. Thanks!

[OracleUsr]

FYA:  Only if it's a three-lamp configuration is the bottom lamp a yellow flashing arrow.  If it's four lamps, the bottom is a green arrow...the second from the bottom is a flashing yellow arrow.

Also, what is the official name of the convention where the first letter of a cardinal direction is higher than the other letters, a practice done in most states now?

[formulanone]

Also, what is the official name of the convention where the first letter of a cardinal direction is higher than the other letters, a practice done in most states now?

In the publishing world, it's called "drop cap". Not sure if the same term is applied to road signs, especially since the initial letter does not drop into any other lines of text.

[OracleUsr]

I've heard it called Raised Caps on this board, and I think someone referred to EIL (elongated/enlarged initial letter).  NC adopted this practice in 2008 (I think it was...seems like the first one I saw was on I-77 at the US/Bus 21 Exit in Yadkin County, then the Raleigh area got overrun by them sometime in late 2009)

[hbelkins]

FYA:  Only if it's a three-lamp configuration is the bottom lamp a yellow flashing arrow.  If it's four lamps, the bottom is a green arrow...the second from the bottom is a flashing yellow arrow.

Not around here. In Kentucky the four-lamp progression is red, yellow, yellow and green. The flashing and solid yellow arrows are two separate lamps.

[mrsman]

FYA:  Only if it's a three-lamp configuration is the bottom lamp a yellow flashing arrow.  If it's four lamps, the bottom is a green arrow...the second from the bottom is a flashing yellow arrow.

Not around here. In Kentucky the four-lamp progression is red, yellow, yellow and green. The flashing and solid yellow arrows are two separate lamps.

I believe that it's a good progress for every FYA to have 4 lamps instead of 3.  The expectation is that flashing yellow is on the lamp one above the bottom.