snafu adj : snarled or stalled in complete confusion; "situation normal--all fucked-up" [syn: fucked-up] n : an acronym often used by soldiers in World War II: situation normal all fucked up v : cause to be in a state of complete confusion

English

Alternative spellings

• snafu

Etymology

The term was born during the WWII 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.

Pronunciation

Disputed... pronunciation can be on either syllable and the first vowel is /æ/, not /ɑː/, according to dictionary.com. Regional differences may exist, so regionality labels are needed.

• /ˈsnɑːfu/
• /"snAfu/

SNAFU

1. In the context of "military slang": euphemistically, fouled up.

Noun

snafu (plural snafus)

1. A ridiculously chaotic situation.
2. A major glitch or breakdown.
   • 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...

Related terms

• FUBAR

See also

• Article on a military training cartoon character: Private Snafu, by Frank Capra in 1942. The stories were written by Theodor Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss).

Snafu may refer to:

• SNAFU, an acronym
• Snafu (band), an English rhythm and blues band of the 1970s.
• Snafu (album), a 1970 album by East Of Eden
• Snafu (game), a 1981 Intellivision video game title published by Mattel Electronics
• Snafu Comics, a webcomics site maintained by David Stanworth
• Private Snafu, the title character from American instructional cartoons produced during World War II
• "Snafu", a composition by Yusef Lateef from the 1961 album Eastern Sounds

Snafu may also be:

• S.N.A.F.U., a fictional organization in the animated television series The X's
• An experiment from the animated series Lilo & Stitch
• Screwball Scramble, a toy also known as Snafu
• Chaos Kid, a rapper also known as Snafu

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