Per 14.7.2 Static named directories at
http://zsh.sourceforge.net/Doc/Release/Expansion.html:
When the shell prints a path (e.g. when expanding %~ in prompts or when printing the directory stack), the path is checked to see if it has a named directory as its prefix. If so, then the prefix portion is replaced with a ‘~’ followed by the name of the directory. The shorter of the two ways of referring to the directory is used, i.e. either the directory name or the full path.
Is there a way to disable this? I like to see full paths when the shell prints things. I want the named dirs because they are easier to type, not because they are easier to read.
PS: I do want ~ (HOME) to be abbreviated.