Why MACUSA and not MCUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America)?
In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them, we learn about the Magical Congress of the United States of America (shortened MACUSA).
Indeed they abbreviate it to this acronym in common speech (pronounced "Ma-koo-za"), but is heavily implied to be an official abbreviation, much like SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) and Navy SEALs (Sea Air Land), both in and out of universe.
Where is the first A in MACUSA coming from (i.e. obviously from Magical, but how come it gets away with using the letter A when it isn't an initial for one of the words that it's abbreviating)? Is there an official reason or out-of-universe explanation?
Best Answer
Like Napoleon said, the acronym comes from MAgical Congress of the United States of America. Much like the "E" in NAVY SEALs, which you yourself brought up. (SEa Air Land)
Sometimes people get creative with the rules for building an acronym, in order to turn it into a pronouncable "word." This is especially true in fictional stories where the author can control what an agency's initials are, and doubly so in anything involving spies or secret agencies. (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., anyone?)
Hill: What does S.H.I.E.L.D. stand for Agent Ward?
Ward: Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.
Hill: And what does that mean to you?
Ward: That someone really wanted our initials to spell "SHIELD."
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Is MACUSA the Ministry of Magic?
MACUSA was modeled on the Wizards' Council of Great Britain, which predated the Ministry of Magic. Representatives from magical communities all over North America were elected to MACUSA to create laws that both policed and protected American wizardkind.What is the name of the American equivalent of the Ministry of Magic?
J.K. Rowling released the final installment of her magic in North America series Thursday, detailing the history of MACUSA (the American equivalent of the Ministry of Magic) in a new story posted on.Are there Aurors in America?
A US Auror Division was a field office of the Department of Aurors located throughout the United States of America, specifically tasked with the capture of dangerous criminals within the jurisdiction of their designated areas.Who were the 12 Aurors of MACUSA?
The original twelve were:- Wilhelm Fischer.
- Theodard Fontaine.
- Gondulphus Graves.
- Robert Grimsditch.
The MAGICAL Congress of the UNITED STATES (MACUSA): Harry Potter/Fantastic Beasts Explained
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Answer 2
MAgical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA), is an acronym.
According to the Wikipedia article on Acronym
There is no universal standardization of the various names for such abbreviations and of their orthographic styling.
In other words, an acronym needn't follow any universal rules for abbreviating, such as only using the initials, because there is no standard way of forming acronyms.
From the wiki's list of different example types:
- Pronounced as a word, containing non-initial letters
- Amphetamine: alpha-methylphenethylamine
- Gestapo: Geheime Staatspolizei ('secret state police')
- Interpol: International Criminal Police Organization
- Nabisco: National Biscuit Co
If we look at Gestapo or Interpol, both of which are comparable to MACUSA, we can see that J.K Rowling's decision for this acronym is certainly justifiable when looking at real-life, out-of-universe examples.
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