Miles Gift ATDTDA (1) pg 23/24

[robinlandseadel at comcast.net]

Actually, acronym gags peaked in pop literature, movies and 
TV during the time that The Crying of Lot 49 was being written.

Of course, nothing beats C.R.E.E.P. . . .

"Comedy was also evident in the names/acronyms of the 
organizations Steed and Peel encountered. In The Living Dead,
two duelling groups examine reported ghost sightings: FOG 
(Friends Of Ghosts) and SMOG (Scientific Measurement Of 
Ghosts). The Hidden Tiger features the Philanthropic Union 
for Rescue, Relief and Recuperation of Cats — PURRR — 
led by folk named Cheshire, Manx, and Angora."

Though not directly pertinent relative to acronyms, 
this definately relates to Pynchon:

"There was also a notable fetishistic undercurrent in many 
episodes (most notably the B&W Rigg episode "A Touch 
of Brimstone", in which Mrs Peel, dressed as a dominatrix,
 becomes the "Queen Of Sin"). Tight-fitting fashion for both 
Gale and Peel was one of the notable features of the shows; 
Macnee and Blackman had even released a novelty song 
called "Kinky Boots". (Some of the clothes seen in The 
Avengers were designed by the clothing designer John 
Sutcliffe, who also published the AtomAge fetish magazine)."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Avengers_(TV_series)

"The show revolved around a fictional secret international 
law-enforcement agency, the United Network Command 
for Law and Enforcement; it was engaged in a constant 
struggle against a vast organization known as THRUSH. 
The meaning of the acronym was never revealed in the series, 
but in the U.N.C.L.E. novels written by David McDaniel and 
based upon the series stated it stood for the Technological
Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the 
Subjugation of Humanity."

http://www.answers.com/topic/the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e


"CONTROL and KAOS were supposed to be acronyms, 
but Mel Brooks and Buck Henry never came up with 
anything for them to stand for."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058805/trivia

---On 1/29/07, Heikki Raudaskoski <hraudask at sun3.oulu.fi> wrote:

---Anyway, I thought I spotted a reference to W.A.S.T.E. when I was
---reading HP4:

---Inside were about fifty badges, all of different colours, but
---all bearing the same letters: S.P.E.W. "'Spew'?" said Harry, 
---picking up a badge and looking at it. "What's this about?"
---"Not *spew*", said Hermione impatiently. "It's S-P-E-W,
---stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare."

Actually, acronym gags have been a staple of pop literature 
since long before The Crying of Lot 49.  There was SMERSH 
in the James Bond novels, and many others in junk that I've 
read and can't remember well enough to quote (actually I'm 
too embarrassed by the junk I've read to be willing to quote it.)  
I'm sure someone could come up with a dozen pre-Pynchonian
acronym gags.  He was following examples, not the other 
way around.