SNAFU
See also: snafu
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editThe term was born during the Second World War as an acronym of the initials of the words situation normal, all fucked up, which summed up the chaos and confusion of the war from an individual soldier’s point of view.
Pronunciation
edit- (UK) enPR: snă'fo͞o, 'snäfo͞o, IPA(key): /snæfˈuː/, /ˈsnɑːfuː/
- (US) enPR: snă'fo͞o, IPA(key): /snæfˈuː/
- Rhymes: -uː, -ɑːfuː
Phrase
editSNAFU
- (military, slang, euphemistic) Acronym of status nominal all fucked up or situation normal all fucked up (fouled up)
Noun
editSNAFU (plural SNAFUs)
- A ridiculously chaotic situation.
- A major glitch or breakdown.
- 2007, Susan Glairon, Paperwork SNAFU, The Daily Times-Call, LongmontFYI
- Because of a paperwork snafu, he also hasn’t been able to get his Army discharge papers and is still listed as an active-duty soldier…
- 2007, Susan Glairon, Paperwork SNAFU, The Daily Times-Call, LongmontFYI
Translations
editridiculously chaotic situation
|
major glitch or breakdown
Related terms
editSee also
edit- Article on a military training cartoon character: Private Snafu, by Frank Capra in 1942. The stories were written by Theodor Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss).
Anagrams
editCategories:
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/uː
- Rhymes:English/uː/2 syllables
- Rhymes:English/ɑːfuː
- Rhymes:English/ɑːfuː/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English phrases
- en:Military
- English slang
- English euphemisms
- English acronyms
- English nouns
- English countable nouns