and ERROR (3 letters) The term 'mistake indicator' can be broken down into two three-letter acronyms: SIC and ERROR. SIC stands for 'said in context, ' which is a phrase used to indicate that a statement or quote should be taken in the context in which it was said. ERROR, on the other hand, is an acronym for 'ERROR message, ' which is a message displayed when a computer program encounters an unexpected problem. Both of these terms are used to indicate mistakes or errors in a given context.