snafu

[sna-foo, snaf-oo]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR snafu ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a badly confused or ridiculously muddled situation: A ballot snafu in the election led to a recount.

adjective Rare.

in disorder; out of control; chaotic: a snafu scheme that simply won't work.

verb (used with object), sna·fued, sna·fu·ing. Rare.

to throw into disorder; muddle: Losing his passport snafued the whole vacation.

Origin of snafu

1940–45; s(ituation) n(ormal): a(ll) f(ucked) u(p); sometimes euphemistically construed as f(ouled) u(p)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for snafu

misunderstanding, miscalculation, blunder, mix-up, foul-up, mess, confusion, flub, screwup, blooper, slip, error, oversight, bungle, misjudgment, goof-up

Examples from the Web for snafu

Contemporary Examples of snafu

SNAFU—“situation normal: all f--ked up,” as soldiers used to say—was the default position for American policy.
In Search of the Obama Doctrine
Christopher Dickey
July 26, 2013
So is this snafu an image problem, or is the real problem the reality behind the curtain—a curtain that needed to be pulled back?
Let the Military Mouth Off!
Christopher Brownfield
July 6, 2010
And you know what snafu stands for: Situation Normal, All Fucked Up.
Our Screwed Up Tax System: Fix It
John Avlon
February 6, 2009

Historical Examples of snafu

"We're not giving her a chance to snafu the works," Gotch said grimly.
First on the Moon
Jeff Sutton
Everything was in apple-pie order, except for the snafu in Arzachel, Crag thought bitterly.
First on the Moon
Jeff Sutton

British Dictionary definitions for snafu

snafu

noun

confusion or chaos regarded as the normal state

adjective

(postpositive) confused or muddled up, as usual

verb -fus, -fuing or -fued

(tr) US and Canadian to throw into chaos

Word Origin for snafu

C20: from s (ituation) n (ormal): a (ll) f (ucked or ouled) u (p)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for snafu

1941, U.S. military slang, acronym for situation normal, all fucked up, "an expression conveying the common soldier's laconic acceptance of the disorder of war and the ineptitude of his superiors" ["Oxford English Dictionary"]. As an adjective from 1942. In public explanations the word typically was euphemised to fouled.