snafu

[ sna-foo, snaf-oo ]

noun

1. a badly confused or ridiculously muddled situation:

   A ballot snafu in the election led to a recount.

   Synonyms: foul-up, mess, confusion, disorder, bedlam, snarl, disarray

   Antonyms: order, organization, calm

2. an error or miscalculation, especially one leading to a confused or muddled situation:

   After some snafu deleted all my data files, I've finally managed to rebuild everything—I think!

adjective

1. Also sna·fued. in disorder; out of control; chaotic:

   What you’re proposing is a snafu scheme that simply won't work.

verb (used with object)

, sna·fued, sna·fu·ing.

1. to throw into disorder; muddle:

   Losing his passport snafued the whole vacation.

   Synonyms: bungle, spoil, mess up

snafu

/ snæˈfuː /

noun

1. confusion or chaos regarded as the normal state

adjective

1. postpositive confused or muddled up, as usual

verb

1. tr to throw into chaos

Word History and Origins

Origin of snafu¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of snafu¹

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

Example Sentences

When he was first incarcerated, he says some sort of paperwork snafu had him imprisoned under two different, but similar, names.

From The Daily Beast

It may either be a legal snafu or a general backlash that has led Lulu to make a major change to how the app operates.

From The Daily Beast

He might be interested to know that Apple fired the manager responsible for the last major snafu the company encountered.

From The Daily Beast

SNAFU—“situation normal: all f--ked up,” as soldiers used to say—was the default position for American policy.

From The Daily Beast

The Grammys snafu, however, shows a certain lack of humility.

From The Daily Beast

Everything was in apple-pie order, except for the snafu in Arzachel, Crag thought bitterly.

From Project Gutenberg

"We're not giving her a chance to snafu the works," Gotch said grimly.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• blunder
• foul-up
• miscalculation
• misunderstanding
• mix-up
• slipup