American Sign Language

choi

Elizabeth Williamson, Helping Hands Cut Through DC’s Political Jargon; In sign of the times, interpreters for deaf get creative; ‘OK!OK!OK!’  Wall Street Journal, Jan 14, 2014 (front page).
online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304773104579266792997670058
(“acronym-and-jargon-filled Washington, DC“)

Quote: “Federal law requires reasonable accommodation for a deaf person, so on any given day, there are about 1,500 sign-language interpreters working full time in the capital

Note:
(a) terp (n; shortening of inTERPreter)
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/terp
(b)
(i) not his first rodeo
(A) This Ain't My First Rodeo
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Ain't_My_First_Rodeo
(“the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Vern Gosdin. It was released in July 1990”)
(B) Not My First Rodeo. Urban Dictionary, undated
www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=not%20my%20first%20rodeo
(“An excellent retort to people who are dispensing advice to you, that is pretty common knowledge and you already know”)
(ii) word_ancestry[gwoman], That Dog Don't Hunt. Historical Origins of English Words and Phrases, July 5, 2008
word-ancestry.livejournal.com/52337.html
(“This phrase originated in the southern United States - particularly in the state of Texas. It generally is used to refer to something that is faulty, such as an idea that is illogical or an event turns out to be a wash. The logic behind it is that whatever is being referenced is as worthless as a dog who won't hunt (Texans are stereotypically believed to be avid hunters.) The phrase has been around for several decades, possibly even a century, but it was not popularized until 1991 when it was used in the movie J.F.K, which was set partially in Texas”)

(c) “When lost in a minefield of jargon, the rule is ‘Spell, and you're out of there,’ Mr [sign-language interpreter Travis] Painter says. He collects acronyms, but new ones always surface. At the National Aeronautics and Space Administration one day, he stopped short at ‘QWAP,’ a vaguely vulgar-sounding acronym that means ‘Quality Work Assurance Program.’ His client giggled, signed, ‘I know you don't get this,’ and spelled the cipher for a blushing Mr Painter. A meeting at Treasury broke up in laughter when Mr Painter signed a form number, F99, which in sign language looks like three ‘OK!’ symbols in a row.”

Initially I could not figure out what QWAP vaguely sounds like. the word “blushing” brightens me: “cunt;” otherwise, there is no need to blush.

(d) “If he [Mr Painter] is discussing robotics at NASA, ‘I might throw in a little Mr Roboto routine.’

Mr Roboto
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Roboto
(a 1983 song of the band Styx; The Roboto is a model of robot which does menial jobs in the prison)

You watch the video and you know what “Mr Roboto routine” means.