Other forms: backronyms
A backronym is a phrase invented to explain what a word that looks like an abbreviation means. The Morse code signal "SOS" was created in 1905 as a distress call because it was easy to remember, but people later created the backronym "Save Our Ship" to explain its meaning.
The word backronym is a portmanteau of back and acronym, which is a word created by taking the first letters of a phrase (e.g., NASA for National Aeronautics and Space Administration). A backronym goes in reverse: You invent a phrase that fits a term that looks like an acronym. Some backronyms are mistakes based on misunderstandings, such as thinking that "tip" stands for "to insure promptness." But some backronyms are intentional: The creators of the programming language known as BASIC named it that to indicate that it was simple enough for students to learn and use. They created the backronym Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code to fit the letters.