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SNAFU, simply defined as "situation normal" and used in a military context, was first recorded in American [[Notes and Queries]] in their September 1941 issue.<ref name="OED">Oxford English Dictionary, 1986 Supplement.</ref> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine used the term in their June 15, 1942 issue: "Last week U.S. citizens knew that gasoline rationing and rubber requisitioning were snafu."<ref name="OED" /> Most reference works, including the ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'', supply an origin date of 1940-1944, generally attributing it to the U.S. Army. Rick Atkinson, in ''The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 (The Liberation Trilogy)'' ascribes the origin of SNAFU, [[FUBAR]] and a bevy of others to cynical GI's ridiculing the Army's penchant for acronyms.
SNAFU, simply defined as "situation normal" and used in a military context, was first recorded in American [[Notes and Queries]] in their September 1941 issue.<ref name="OED">Oxford English Dictionary, 1986 Supplement.</ref> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine used the term in their June 15, 1942 issue: "Last week U.S. citizens knew that gasoline rationing and rubber requisitioning were snafu."<ref name="OED" /> Most reference works, including the ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'', supply an origin date of 1940-1944, generally attributing it to the U.S. Army. Rick Atkinson, in ''The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 (The Liberation Trilogy)'' ascribes the origin of SNAFU, [[FUBAR]] and a bevy of others to cynical GI's ridiculing the Army's penchant for acronyms.


Two proprietary variants of the phrase are also attributed to each of the primary services of the time. The Navy version went: "Situation Normal; Army Fucked Up", while the Army retort was "Some Navy Asshole Fucked Up". Beyond serviceman apocrypha, there are no official sources for these variants.
Two proprietary variants of the phrase are also attributed to each of the primary services of the time. The Navy version went: "Situation Normal; Army F***ed Up", while the Army retort was "Some Navy A****** F***ed Up". Beyond serviceman apocrypha, there are no official sources for these variants.


At least three songs from that era can be traced that either are titled "SNAFU" or feature "SNAFU" as part of discussion.
At least three songs from that era can be traced that either are titled "SNAFU" or feature "SNAFU" as part of discussion.

Revision as of 23:38, 23 May 2009

This article is about the acronym. For other uses, see Snafu.

SNAFU is an acronym meaning "Situation Normal; All F***ed Up". It is sometimes bowdlerized to "Situation Normal: All Fouled Up" or similar,[1] in circumstances where profanity is discouraged or censored. The acronym is believed to have originated in the US Army during World War II.

In modern usage, "snafu" is often used as an interjection, as a shorthand for the sentiment expressed by the phrase. "Snafu" is also sometimes used as a noun or verb, referring to a situation that suddenly goes awry or gets screwed up, or to the cause of the trouble. For example, the May 19th, 2005 edition of The New York Times had an article titled, "Hospital Staff Cutback Blamed for Test Result Snafu."[2] The piece described a mix up with cancer screenings that occurred at a hospital because the facility didn't have enough workers to process the tests.

Date of origin

SNAFU, simply defined as "situation normal" and used in a military context, was first recorded in American Notes and Queries in their September 1941 issue.[3] Time magazine used the term in their June 15, 1942 issue: "Last week U.S. citizens knew that gasoline rationing and rubber requisitioning were snafu."[3] Most reference works, including the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, supply an origin date of 1940-1944, generally attributing it to the U.S. Army. Rick Atkinson, in The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 (The Liberation Trilogy) ascribes the origin of SNAFU, FUBAR and a bevy of others to cynical GI's ridiculing the Army's penchant for acronyms.

Two proprietary variants of the phrase are also attributed to each of the primary services of the time. The Navy version went: "Situation Normal; Army F***ed Up", while the Army retort was "Some Navy A****** F***ed Up". Beyond serviceman apocrypha, there are no official sources for these variants.

At least three songs from that era can be traced that either are titled "SNAFU" or feature "SNAFU" as part of discussion.

The Army and Warner Bros. Cartoons produced training cartoons during WWII featuring a character called Private Snafu who always did the wrong thing.

Variations

  • AMF-YOYO - Adios Mother Fucker, You're On Your Own
  • BOHICA - Bend Over, Here It Comes Again
  • "Charlie Foxtrot" - From the phonetic alphabet letters C and F, meaning Cluster Fuck
  • DILLIGAS - Do I Look Like I Give A Shit
  • DILLIGAFF - Do I Look Like I Give A Flying Fuck
  • FIDO - Fuck It-Drive On
  • FISHDO - Fuck It, Shit Happens - Drive On
  • FIFI - Fuck It-Fly It
  • FUBAB - Fucked Up Beyond All Belief
  • FUBAR - Fucked Up Beyond All Repair/Recognition/Reason
  • FUBB - Fucked Up Beyond Belief
  • FUBIJAR - Fuck You Bitch, I'm Just a Reservist (US Army Reserve)
  • FUBISO - Fuck You Buddy, I'm Shipping Out
  • FUJIGMO - Fuck You Jack, I Got My Orders
  • FUMTU - Fucked Up More Than Usual
  • JANFU - Joint Army-Navy Fuck Up
  • KMACYOYO - Kiss My Ass Colonel, You're On Your Own
  • SNAFUBAR - Situation Normal: All Fucked Up Beyond All Repair/Recognition/Reason
  • SOL - Shit Out of Luck
  • SRDH - Shit Rolls Down Hill
  • SSDD - Same Shit, Different Day
  • SUSFU - Situation Unchanged, Still Fucked Up
  • TARFU - Things Are Really Fucked Up, or Totally and Royally Fucked Up
  • TAUFU - Totally And Utterly Fucked Up

Notes

  1. ^ Neary, Lynn. "Fifty Years of 'The Cat in the Hat'". NPR. Retrieved 2008-01-08. 'Situation Normal All . . . All Fouled Up,' as the first SNAFU animated cartoon put it
  2. ^ The New York Times: "Hospital Staff Cutback Blamed for Test Result Snafu"
  3. ^ a b Oxford English Dictionary, 1986 Supplement.
  4. ^ http://www.umkc.edu/lib/spec-col/ww2/PostWarWorld/bugle-boys-txt.htm
  5. ^ "Glenn Miller - Secret Broadcasts - Track Listing". Music City. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
  6. ^ D*DAY (DVD). St. Clair Entertainment Group. 2004.

References

  • A Supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary, R. W. Burchfield, ed., Volume IV Se-Z, 1986.
  • Hakim, Joy (1995). A History of Us: War, Peace and all that Jazz. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-509514-6.
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