Originally Posted by
oldchina
I may be wrong, but notice that folks of my generation refer to it as "the war", whereas "WW2" or "WWII" is common among those for whom it's history
The Great War did not become the First World War until the Second World War had been with us for a good few years. My father, who had served in it, would refer to "The last War" during the Second War, but I can't remember how he referred to it in the post-war years.
"WW 1" and WW 2" are good examples of abbreviated forms that take longer to say than what's being abbreviated (c.f. WWW in our time!).