snafu

[sna-foo, snaf-oo] /snæˈfu, ˈsnæf u/
noun
1.
a badly confused or ridiculously muddled situation:
A ballot snafu in the election led to a recount.
Synonyms: snarl, bedlam, tumult, disarray, disorder, confusion, mess; foul-up.
Antonyms: order, efficiency, calm.
adjective, Rare.
2.
in disorder; out of control; chaotic:
a snafu scheme that simply won't work.
verb (used with object), snafued, snafuing. Rare.
3.
to throw into disorder; muddle:
Losing his passport snafued the whole vacation.
Synonyms: confuse, mess up, bungle.
Origin
1940-45; s(ituation) n(ormal): a(ll) f(ucked) u(p); sometimes euphemistically construed as f(ouled) u(p)
Examples from the web for snafu
  • Weak because he's brought down not by inner conflict but by an outer snafu.
  • The second snafu was more localized, but more severe for those affected.
  • Both audio and video transmitted perfectly without any sort of digital snafu.
  • My own flight snafu involved one cancelled leg out of a four-flight, round-trip itinerary.
  • That's not the only security snafu that's happened recently.
  • Although the snafu gave her a measure of fame, it was mostly a nuisance.
  • Then, he couldn't view the videos because of a software snafu.
British Dictionary definitions for snafu

snafu

/snæˈfuː/
noun
1.
confusion or chaos regarded as the normal state
adjective
2.
(postpositive) confused or muddled up, as usual
verb -fus, -fuing, -fued
3.
(transitive) (US & Canadian) to throw into chaos
Word Origin
C20: from s(ituation) n(ormal): a(ll) f(ucked or ouled) u(p)
Word Origin and History for snafu
n.

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.

Slang definitions & phrases for snafu

snafu

adjective

: It's a very snafu set-up here

noun
  1. A very confused situation; fuck-up, mess: The snafu occurred at Markwood Road
  2. A blunder; an egregious mistake; blooper: My attempt to set things right was a total snafu
verb

: He gave it a good shot, but snafued horribly

[WWII armed forces; fr situation normal, all fucked up]


Related Abbreviations for snafu

snafu

  1. situation normal all fouled up
  2. situation normal all fucked up