Acetylsalicylic acid

The active ingredient in asprin and one of the ingredients in Alka-Seltzer. Acetylsalicylic acid (or its various translations) may be used as a generic term in countries where Bayer's trademark claim to asprin was not invalidated after World War I (e.g., Germany, Canada, Mexico).

The term may also see use where it is desired to refer to the pure chemical, as opposed to any medical formulations. It may also see use where the person saying it wants to sound scientific or very intelligent.

I took some acetylsalicylic acid for my headache.

EtOH

Grain alcohol, or the kind of alcohol in beer, wine and liquor. The short form EtOH is used by chemists to refer to the chemical, and medical doctors to refer to alcoholic beverages or the consumption thereof.

The term comes from organic chemistry nomenclature. Specifically, the "Et" refers to the "ethyl" group in grain alcohol, while the "OH" refers to the hydroxyl part of grain alcohol.

The doctor wrote "social EtOH" on the patient's chart after taking her history, after she said she was a social drinker.

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