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What does "ZZT" stand for? As for context, I was listening to a conversation. Two persons talking to each other, after a while one of them said:

Ach so. ZZT, wohin bist du gestern gegangen?

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    I assume the sentence before this one would be helpful, because "ZZT" could refer to it and the "wohin"-part is introducing a new topic. "Ach so, ZZT. Wohin bist Du gestern gegangen?" Jan 3, 2012 at 18:09
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    Actually the only word (apart from personal name) that fits the context here would be "Übrigens, wohin ..." that stands for "By the way, where..". I can't imagine using ZZT as an abbreviation in a normal human speech. Jan 3, 2012 at 23:00
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    War die Aussprache: "Zett Zett Te"?
    – splattne
    Jan 4, 2012 at 7:28
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    @Gigili I suppose: a) the speaker on that tape didn't know what "z. Zt." is and just read it as abbreviation (what nobody in real life does btw) - b) the speaker wanted to be funny - which also seems strange.
    – splattne
    Jan 4, 2012 at 14:46
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    Wikipedia offers some other meanings for the abbreviation ZZT, but none of them seem to make sense on them own. I fear we need more information about the context.
    – tohuwawohu
    Jan 4, 2012 at 15:38

3 Answers 3

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It could be zzT => zurück zum Thema

If they have spoken before about the topic where one of them went yesterday and got interrupted (or distracted), "zurück zum Thema" could be used as bridge to talk about this topic again (back on topic).

Normally you wouldn't use this abbreviation in spoken German. I guess it mostly used on online forums like other abbreviations (bbl, ymmw, lol, ...).

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  • I never heard or read this abbreviation before, but it fits the context quite well.
    – 0x6d64
    Jan 5, 2012 at 10:56
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    It is sometimes used in German forums, it's basically the German pendant to "BTT" or "B2T" for "back to topic".
    – phant0m
    Jan 5, 2012 at 11:43
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The only one that comes to mind, and the only one that is widely used and understood, is z. Zt. = zur Zeit.

Also, are you really asking about people talking? I've never heard anybody use abbreviations in verbal communication (with the exception of LOL and ROFL). Could it be that you've misheard?

Maybe they were talking about a location that is abbreviated ZZT...

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The TU-Chemnitz online dictionary also says so:

z.Z or z.Zt = zur Zeit (at present, for the time being, at the time of)

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