The term 'CATCHALL ABBREVIATION' refers to a set of abbreviations that are used to refer to a variety of items or concepts. The most common abbreviations in this group are MISC (4 letters), ETC (3 letters), and ETAL (4 letters). MISC stands for 'MISCELLANEOUS, ' and is used to refer to a collection of items that don't fit into any other category. ETC stands for 'et cetera, ' and is used to refer to a list of items that could go on and on, but the speaker or writer has chosen to stop listing them. ETAL stands for 'et alii, ' and is used to refer to a group of people, usually authors of a book or article.