What is an "OB"?

OB is an acronym invented in Japan which means "old boy". In Japan this has acquired the meaning of a male company retiree. Some other acronyms were invented in Japan and do not have the same meaning in English. See also What are these pseudo English words like salaryman?

Acronym "English" Meaning
CM Commercial Message TV commercial, TV advertisement
NG No Good Opposite of OK
OB Old boy Retiree
OL Office Lady Female office worker

Another recent trend is to use acronyms as a kind of secret word, with the letters standing for Japanese words. For example "KY" means kūki ga yomenai (空気がよめない), "unaware", and "DQN" stands for dokyun (ドキュン), "stupid, unaware, uneducated, violent, thuggish".

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