dumpster fire

[ duhmp-ster fahyer ]

noun

1. a fire in a dumpster, or a large bin for refuse.
2. Slang. a situation, person, or thing that is disastrous and out of control:

   The team is turning into the biggest dumpster fire in the league.

Word History and Origins

Origin of dumpster fire¹

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

Hi Quartz readers,Hi Quartz readers,Last month a team of Canadian researchers unwittingly poured gasoline on the dumpster fire of anti-vax propaganda.

From Quartz

Last month a team of Canadian researchers unwittingly poured gasoline on the dumpster fire of anti-vax propaganda.

From Quartz

A team of Canadian researchers unwittingly spewed gasoline on the dumpster fire of anti-vax propaganda earlier this month when they published a non-peer-reviewed study on Covid-19 vaccine side effects.

From Quartz

As of this moment, my PyTorch kernels aren't so much torches as they are dumpster fires.

From Ars Technica

It goes without saying that most of us are more than happy to see 2020 come to an end, but even this dumpster fire of a year could not extinguish the will to fight for a better life.

From Washington Blade

More About Dumpster Fire

What does dumpster fire mean?

Dumpster fire is a negative slang term for a situation that’s completely disastrous.

It typically implies that such a situation is out of control and is very unlikely to be fixed. It’s often used to refer to situations that are disastrous due to extreme incompetence or negligence.

The term can also be applied to people, groups, or things that are in the midst of utter chaos or irredeemable failure, as in They haven’t won a single game—they’re a complete dumpster fire this year. It’s especially used in a mocking way. 

This figurative sense of dumpster fire is based on its literal meaning: a fire inside a dumpster, which is a large trash container designed to be lifted and emptied by a garbage truck.

A literal dumpster fire is often caused accidentally, and the same goes for the figurative sense of the term—it’s usually used to refer to disastrous situations that weren’t intended to be that way. Some dumpster fires are self-contained, while others can spread to things around them (this also holds true for both the literal and figurative senses of the term).

The slang sense of dumpster fire implies that the situation was bad to begin with (a pile of garbage) and has now become even worse (a pile of garbage on fire). This might also imply that it’s not worth fixing.

Example: Poor attendance, technical difficulties, offensive gaffes, and food poisoning—the conference was a dumpster fire.

Where does dumpster fire come from?

The first records of the phrase dumpster fire referring to a literal fire in a dumpster come from the 1950s, but its literal sense is not a common term like forest fire or house fire. The name of the large trash container we now call a dumpster was originally a trademarked term. It was introduced in the 1930s by the Dempster Brothers Company as the Dempster Dumpster. The origin of the slang use of dumpster fire is unknown, but it began to gain popularity around the late 2000s.

Dumpster fire can be used to refer to people (such as a scandal-causing politician), things (such as a particularly inept sports team), or situations (such as a failing business’s finances). The term is used negatively to indicate that something is a catastrophic mess that is getting more and more out of control. Dumpster fire is similar to the slang term train wreck in that some people get morbid enjoyment out of watching the disaster get worse.

Did you know ... ?

What are some synonyms for dumpster fire?

• debacle
• catastrophe
• disaster
• fiasco

What are some words that share a root or word element with dumpster fire? 

• dumpster
• fire
• dumpster diving

What are some words that often get used in discussing dumpster fire?

• huge
• massive
• raging
• mess
• chaos
• failure

How is dumpster fire used in real life?

The slang use of dumpster fire is always used very negatively. It’s often used in a mocking way.

I just voted. Felt a tiny endorphin rush. Like I actually did something about the hot mess inside of a dumpster fire inside of a train wreck (to quote the eloquent @jaketapper) that we happen to be in. A highly recommended therapy regimen. #Vote

— Kim Wehle (@kimwehle) October 15, 2020

MAYBE if we combine the Jets and Giants to make one New York Giant Jets, we’ll still be a dumpster fire, but bigger.

— joanna breen (@meanjobreen) September 15, 2020

This semester is a dumpster fire where I feel like I’m learning absolutely nothing

— Laika Leanne (@LaikaLeanne) September 17, 2020

 

 

Try using dumpster fire!

Which of the following words is a synonym of dumpster fire?

A. fiasco
B. mistake
C. hurdle
D. challenge