The meaning of R.S.V.P.

We’ve all seen these four letters. We know they stand for something. We’re not really sure what, however. That’s why we always tell people to “please are ess vee pee.” They know exactly what we mean. We know exactly what we mean. But chances are, we both don’t know exactly what we mean.

But now, courtesy of Howstuffworks, we can all know exactly what those four letters stand for:

R.S.V.P. stands for a French phrase, “répondez, s’il vous plaît,” which means “please reply.” The person sending the invitation would like you to tell him or her whether you accept or decline the invitation.

You’re welcome. Now you can tell people, “répondez, s’il vous plaît,” and when they look at you with a blank stare, you can sigh and say, “Oh, please ARE ES VEE PEE,” (even though it is so internationally redundant.)

via Howstuffworks