this question asking for a "short version of emph", e.g. |text|
is tagged as just "emphasis", but it's really about more than that. "macro" and "catcodes" aren't really appropriate. "define" or "shorthand" might be, but no such tags exist; besides, "define" (or "definition") would logically be a synonym for "macro", and "shorthand" might be too restrictive. but the cited question is a good one, and deserves a better chance to be found.
suggestions?