These standard abbreviations (not acronyms) are used by Sherlockians as a shorthand for the titles of all the canon stories. The idea was originally thought up by Jay Finley Christ and proposed in 1947. The general rule is to take the first four letters of the first important word in the title, with some exceptions. If you practice learning these, they become second nature and greatly reduce the amount of typing you have to do during a discussion.
I have ordered this list alphabetically by abbreviation, and I also list the particular collection that contains each short story. If you have trouble finding a tricky story title, like "A Case of Identity", use your browser's Find feature to search this page for that story. "The Adv. of" stands for "The Adventure of."
| Abbrev. | Story Title | Book Title |
|---|---|---|
| 3GAB | The Adv. of the Three Gables | The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes |
| 3GAR | The Adv. of the Three Garridebs | The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes |
| 3STU | The Adv. of the Three Students | The Return of Sherlock Holmes |
| ABBE | The Adv. of the Abbey Grange | The Return of Sherlock Holmes |
| BERY | The Adv. of the Beryl Coronet | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes |
| BLAC | The Adv. of Black Peter | The Return of Sherlock Holmes |
| BLAN | The Adv. of the Blanched Soldier | The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes |
| BLUE | The Adv. of the Blue Carbuncle | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes |
| BOSC | The Boscombe Valley Mystery | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes |
| BRUC | The Adv. of the Bruce-Partington Plans | His Last Bow |
| CARD | The Adv. of the Cardboard Box | His Last Bow |
| CHAS | The Adv. of Charles Augustus Milverton | The Return of Sherlock Holmes |
| COPP | The Adv. of the Copper Beeches | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes |
| CREE | The Adv. of the Creeping Man | The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes |
| CROO | The Crooked Man | The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes |
| Abbrev. | Story Title | Book Title |
| DANC | The Adv. of the Dancing Men | The Return of Sherlock Holmes |
| DEVI | The Adv. of the Devil's Foot | His Last Bow |
| DYIN | The Adv. of the Dying Detective | His Last Bow |
| EMPT | The Adv. of the Empty House | The Return of Sherlock Holmes |
| ENGR | The Adv. of the Engineer's Thumb | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes |
| FINA | The Final Problem | The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes |
| FIVE | The Five Orange Pips | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes |
| GLOR | The Gloria Scott | The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes |
| GOLD | The Adv. of the Golden Pince-Nez | The Return of Sherlock Holmes |
| GREE | The Greek Interpreter | The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes |
| HOUN | --- | The Hound of the Baskervilles |
| IDEN | A Case of Identity | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes |
| ILLU | The Adv. of the Illustrious Client | The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes |
| LADY | The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax | His Last Bow |
| LAST | His Last Bow | His Last Bow |
| Abbrev. | Story Title | Book Title |
| LION | The Adv. of the Lion's Mane | The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes |
| MAZA | The Adv. of the Mazarin Stone | The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes |
| MISS | The Adv. of the Missing Three-Quarter | The Return of Sherlock Holmes |
| MUSG | The Musgrave Ritual | The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes |
| NAVA | The Naval Treaty | The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes |
| NOBL | The Adv. of the Noble Bachelor | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes |
| NORW | The Adv. of the Norwood Builder | The Return of Sherlock Holmes |
| PRIO | The Adv. of the Priory School | The Return of Sherlock Holmes |
| REDC | The Adv. of the Red Circle | His Last Bow |
| REDH | The Red-headed League | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes |
| REIG | The Reigate Puzzle (or The Reigate Squires) | The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes |
| RESI | The Resident Patient | The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes |
| RETI | The Adv. of the Retired Colourman | The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes |
| SCAN | A Scandal in Bohemia | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes |
| SECO | The Adv. of the Second Stain | The Return of Sherlock Holmes |
| Abbrev. | Story Title | Book Title |
| SHOS | The Adv. of Shoscombe Old Place | The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes |
| SIGN | --- | The Sign of Four (or The Sign of the Four) |
| SILV | Silver Blaze | The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes |
| SIXN | The Adv. of the Six Napoleons | The Return of Sherlock Holmes |
| SOLI | The Adv. of the Solitary Cyclist | The Return of Sherlock Holmes |
| SPEC | The Adv. of the Speckled Band | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes |
| STOC | The Stock-broker's Clerk | The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes |
| STUD | --- | A Study in Scarlet |
| SUSS | The Adv. of the Sussex Vampire | The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes |
| THOR | The Problem of Thor Bridge | The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes |
| TWIS | The Man with the Twisted Lip | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes |
| VALL | --- | The Valley of Fear |
| VEIL | The Adv. of the Veiled Lodger | The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes |
| WIST | The Adv. of Wisteria Lodge | His Last Bow |
| YELL | The Yellow Face | The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes |
| Abbrev. | Story Title | Book Title |
An example of how to use these abbreviations would be something like this: "Of the four novels, HOUN is considered the best." Or you might say: "Did you ever notice the similarity in plot between REDH and STOC?"