SNAFU en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- snă'fo͞o (UK)
- (US) audio
- snă'fo͞o (US)
- 'snăfo͞o (US)
- /snæˈfuː/ (UK)
- (UK) audio
- 'snăfo͞o (UK)
- /ˈsnæfuː/ (UK)
- /snæˈfu/ (US)
- /ˈsnæfu/ (US)
Etymology
The 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.
Meanings
- A confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; a ridiculously chaotic situation; confusion or chaos regarded as the normal state.
-
A major glitch or breakdown; a mistake or blunder.
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…
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| SNAFUs | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| snafu | alternative | lexicographic |
Relateds
Private Snafu (Article on a military training cartoon character) · FUBAR · by Frank Capra in 1942. The stories were written by Theodor Geisel (Article on a military training cartoon character)
Translations (42)
pl rozpierducha (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · bg бъркотия (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · hu összevisszaság (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · hu káosz (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · fi sotku (major glitch or breakdown) · pl potknięcie (major glitch or breakdown) · it ginepraio (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · pl sajgon (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · es confusión (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · hu rumli (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · ru ошибка (major glitch or breakdown) · hu zűrzavar (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · pl wtopa (major glitch or breakdown) · it merdaio (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · ru барда́к (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · ru неразбери́ха (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · ru косяк (major glitch or breakdown) · it troiaio (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · it bordello (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · ru ералаш (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · fr bordel (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · de Patzer (major glitch or breakdown) · fr merdier (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · hu zűr (major glitch or breakdown) · hu gebasz (major glitch or breakdown) · it macello (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · it puttanaio (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · de tanzendes Chaos (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · ru ляп (major glitch or breakdown) · pl bałagan (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · pl obsuwa (major glitch or breakdown) · fi hässäkkä (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · de Chaos (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · ru пу́таница (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · it ambarabà (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · pl burdel (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · bg хаос (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · pl wpadka (major glitch or breakdown) · it casino (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · pl bajer (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · it ambaradam (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation) · es caos (confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; ridiculously chaotic situation)