Some of us here do not use reddit much, so using slang specific to that site can be confusing. In this case, I don't think that saying "eli5" instead "explain" is worth risking this potential for confusion, as only 3 letters are saved.
Yes, except that's not actually what people mean when they type those letters. A five year old has almost zero understanding of math. Where would you even begin?
If you want a simple explanation, just say so. There's really no need to use internet memes for basic communication.
Wow. Based on the responses, you'd think I wrote a style guide that said to use eli5 whenever possible. If you don't like it, don't use it. I don't. I was only pointing out that the abbreviation neither stands for just "explain" nor saves a mere three letters.
I always figured it was supposed to be a single word that started with "eli" followed by 5 letters, in the manner of i18n.
The only English words I could find matching that pattern are elicited, elicitor, elidible, eligible, eligibly, elisions, elitisms and elitists - none of which seem apt, although "elicited" is tantalisingly close. From context I always read it as "elucidate" (elu6?)
"explain like I'm 5" is almost certain to be understood regardless of the reader. "Eli5" is unintelligible unless you are part of a particular, narrow, culture. I had no idea what it meant.
(In truth, the "like I'm 5" part is not obvious so could be misunderstood, but is easier to grasp the meaning.)
