This is something I’ve felt strongly about since I was running high school cross country and there are two distinct camps. Is the appropriate abbreviation for cross country “CC” or “XC?”
For me there should be no debate. It’s CC–the first letter of the two words in the name of the sport.
“But,” people say. “An X…like a cross… so it can be subbed in.”
Well, kinda. Where else do we see an X used as a stand-in for “cross?” On roading crossing signs, right? So, “Ped X-ing” or “Deer X-ing,” etc. But why do they use an X instead of just writing the word “crossing?” To save space, of course! That’s why “Merry X-Mas” is used–to save space. The X in XC isn’t saving space! It’s arbitrarily replacing another single letter in an abbreviation. So, by this logic, I’m totally okay with “X-Country” as a shorthand, because you’re saving space, but once you want to save even more space, it needs to become “CC.”
So, please, join me, friends. Don’t overthink it (as, I suppose, I so obviously am). Stop messing with the simple process of making an abbreviation from the first letters of words. This has bothered me since the 90’s. It needs to stop.
Thank you.