It was brought to my attention the other day that some of my readers are new to the survivalist scene and have yet to get the hang of all the acronyms that are used by preppers so too help you guys out I’ve compiled a basic list of some of the most commonly used acronyms.
Feel free to leave a message in the comments box if you have any that you would like me to add.

Bug Out- A term meaning to “get out of town.” If you have to bug out, this means you will have to leave in a hurry. Some type of event is on the way and you need to get out of its path.
BOB – Bug Out Bag. This is some kind of duffle or back pack equipped with emergency supplies. It is also known as a Go Bag.
BOV – Bug Out Vehicle. This covers everything from your everyday car to some seriously expensive, purpose built vehicles able to withstand small arms fire. It’s purpose is to get you out of town and to safety in the event of a disaster.
BOL – Bug Out Location. A place in which you plan to evacuate to during a disaster. Usually a remote location that has varying degrees of provisions.
Bug In – Just the opposite of Bug Out. To Bug In means to shelter in place. This is were some type of event is on the way and it is impossible to leave your home, or what ever shelter you are in.
Cache – A stash of supplies.
DHTRO – Defecation Hits The Rotating Oscillator
Get Out Of Dodge / GOOD – Same as Bug Out
GHB – Get Home Bag. Used primarily to get you home, or to a place of safety when a disaster or emergency comes along. Contains essentials like water, some food, some sort of shelter (usually a poncho) and something to light a fire with
HDR – Humanitarian Daily Ration. This is a cheaper version of the MRE. The contents of a HDR acontian 0 animal by products. This is so the HDR can be dropped into areas where the local populations have certain religious beliefs about eating animal meat or products.
Hordes – People leaving the big cities looking for supplies. Hordes are often refer to the biblical term – “hordes of locust.” Just as with locust, the people from the large cities will remove all supplies from the smaller surrounding areas.
Multi-tool – This is a combination survival knife, pliers and will usually have a wide assortment of tools built in. One example is the Gerber Multi-tool.
MRE – Meal Ready To Eat. This is a military ration. Its normal shelf life is several years. The contents are sealed in a tough plastic coating.
PM’s – Precious Metals. Gold, silver, platinum, palladium and rhodium. Though it is usually used to reference gold and silver.
SHTF – SHIT Hit The Fan. This means that some kind of event has happened. This is a term used in relation to your location. A SHTF situation is not normally world wide.
Survival knife - A multi purpose knife used for survival in the wilderness.
TEOTWAWKI – The End Of The World As We Know It. This means that the world as you know it has come to an end – some kind of world wide event has happened, kiss your old life good-bye.
TP – Toilet Paper. You will need lots of this if you’ve got lots of food preps.
WROL – Stands for “Without Rule Of Law”