TNT is a powerful explosive — a pale yellow solid, often pressed into blocks or sticks, used for blowing things up. Real users are armies, mining companies, and the people whose job is to knock down old buildings. It is a chemical name shortened: the full name is trinitrotoluene, which almost nobody says because it is such a mouthful. Say the three letters: T-N-T. Scientists also use TNT as a measuring stick for how strong any explosion is — that is why news reports say a bomb was 'equal to 500 tonnes of TNT'. In everyday talk people stretch it to mean a person or thing full of dangerous energy: "that guy is TNT" means he could blow up in anger at any moment, and a plan can be described as TNT if touching it will cause trouble. It is a favourite word in cartoons and video games, where a box marked TNT is the thing you must not step on. Careful, though — TNT is also the name of a well-known American TV channel and of a delivery company, so the letters alone do not always mean the explosive.