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{{otheruses4|the acronym|other uses|Snafu}}
{{Short description|Military acronym slang}}
{{other uses|Snafu (disambiguation){{!}}Snafu}}
[[File:Private_SNAFU.JPG|thumb|right|''[[Private Snafu]]'' was a series of instructional cartoons devised by [[Frank Capra]] and produced by [[Warner Brothers]] animators such as [[Chuck Jones]] for the US Army during [[World War II]].]]


'''SNAFU''' is an [[acronym]] meaning "Situation Normal; All F***ed Up". It is sometimes [[Expurgation|bowdlerized]] to "Situation Normal: All Fouled Up" or similar,<ref>{{cite web|last=Neary|first=Lynn|title=Fifty Years of 'The Cat in the Hat'| publisher=[[NPR]]|quote= 'Situation Normal All . . . All Fouled Up,' as the first SNAFU animated cartoon put it|url= http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7651308|accessdate=2008-01-08}}</ref> in circumstances where [[profanity]] is discouraged or [[censorship|censored]]. The acronym is believed to have originated in the [[United States Army|US Army]] during [[World War II]].
'''SNAFU''' is an [[acronym]] that is widely used to stand for the sarcastic expression '''Situation normal: all fucked up'''. It is a well-known example of [[military slang|military acronym slang]]. It is sometimes censored to "all fouled up" or similar.<ref>{{cite news|last=Neary|first=Lynn|title=Fifty Years of 'The Cat in the Hat'|newspaper=NPR.org| publisher=[[National Public Radio|NPR]]|quote= 'Situation Normal All . . . All Fouled Up,' as the first SNAFU animated cartoon put it|url= https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7651308|access-date=2008-01-08}}</ref> It means that the situation is bad, but that this is a normal state of affairs. The acronym is believed to have originated in the [[United States Marine Corps]] 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 19]]th, 2005 edition of ''[[The New York Times]]'' had an article titled, "Hospital Staff Cutback Blamed for Test Result Snafu."<ref>''The New York Times'': [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/19/nyregion/19pap.html?scp=4&sq=snafu&st=cse "Hospital Staff Cutback Blamed for Test Result Snafu"]</ref> 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.
In modern usage, ''SNAFU'' is used to describe running into an error or problem that is large and unexpected. For example, in 2005, ''[[The New York Times]]'' published an article titled "Hospital Staff Cutback Blamed for Test Result Snafu".<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/19/nyregion/hospital-staff-cutback-blamed-for-test-result-snafu.html "Hospital Staff Cutback Blamed for Test Result Snafu"], in: ''[[The New York Times]]'', May 19 2005.</ref> ''SNAFU'' also sometimes refers to a bad situation, mistake, or cause of trouble, and it is sometimes used as an [[interjection]].


==Date of origin==
==Origin==
Most reference works, including the ''[[Random House Unabridged Dictionary]]'', supply an origin date of 1940–1944, generally attributing it to the [[U.&nbsp;S. Army|U.S. Army]]. [[Rick Atkinson]] ascribes the origin of ''SNAFU'', ''[[FUBAR]]'', and many other terms to cynical [[GI (military)|GIs]] ridiculing the army's penchant for acronyms.<ref>''The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943–1944'' (part of ''The Liberation Trilogy'') by [[Rick Atkinson]].</ref>
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.


The first known publication of the term was by ''[[The Kansas City Star]]'', on July 27, 1941.<ref>{{cite news |title=Snafu, and All's Well |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-star-snafu/122568792/ |work=The Kansas City Star |date=July 27, 1941 |location=Kansas City, MO |page=5 |access-date=April 9, 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref> It was subsequently recorded in ''[[American Notes and Queries]]'' in the September 1941 issue (which the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' in 1986 credited as the term's first appearance).<ref name="OED">''A Supplement to the [[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', R. W. Burchfield, ed., Volume IV Se-Z, 1986.</ref> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine used the term in its June 16, 1942, issue: "Last week U.S. citizens knew that gasoline rationing and rubber requisitioning were snafu."<ref name="OED" />
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.


The attribution of ''SNAFU'' to the American military is not universally accepted: it has also been attributed to the British,<ref>''Rawson's Dictionary of Euphemisms and Other Doubletalk.'' [[Chicago, IL]] 2002, Hugh Rawson.</ref> although the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' gives its origin and first recorded use as U.S. military slang.<ref name="OED"/>
At least three songs from that era can be traced that either are titled "SNAFU" or feature "SNAFU" as part of discussion.


In a wider study of military slang, Elkin noted in 1946 that there "are a few acceptable substitutes such as 'screw up' or 'mess up,' but these do not have the emphasis value of the obscene equivalent." He considered the expression to be "a caricature of Army direction. The soldier resignedly accepts his own less responsible position and expresses his cynicism at the inefficiency of Army authority." He also noted that "the expression […] is coming into general civilian use."<ref>{{Citation| last= Elkin| first= Frederick| date=March 1946 |title= The Soldier's Language| journal= American Journal of Sociology| volume= 51| issue= 5 Human Behavior in Military Society| publisher= The University of Chicago Press| pages= 414–422| jstor= 2771105 |doi=10.1086/219852| s2cid= 144746694}}</ref>
*[[Leonard Feather]]/Shorty Sherock's SNAFU &mdash; a [[jazz]] instrumental composition. <ref>http://www.umkc.edu/lib/spec-col/ww2/PostWarWorld/bugle-boys-txt.htm</ref>
*[[Glenn Miller]]'s SNAFU Jump. <ref name="SnafuJump">{{Cite web|url=http://www.music-city.org/Glenn-Miller/Secret-Broadcasts-102828/|title=Glenn Miller - Secret Broadcasts - Track Listing|accessdate=2008-07-23|publisher=Music City}}</ref>
*[[Carole Landis]] and [[Martha Raye]] performed a skit about SNAFU sometime during the war. <ref>{{cite video|title=D*DAY|medium= DVD|publisher=St. Clair Entertainment Group|date=2004}}</ref>


==Similar acronyms==
The Army and [[Warner Bros. Cartoons]] produced training cartoons during WWII featuring a character called ''[[Private Snafu]]'' who always did the wrong thing.
===SUSFU<!--'SUSFU' redirects here-->===
'''SUSFU'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--> is an acronym for '''Situation unchanged: still fucked up''', but can also be [[Bowdlerization|bowdlerized]]—just like ''SNAFU''—to '''Situation unchanged: still fouled up'''. It is used in a [[military]] context and was first recorded in the ''[[American Notes and Queries|ANQ]]'' in their September 1941 issue.{{cn|date=November 2024|reason=it mentions a September 1941 ANQ issue without adding it to references}}


==Variations==
==See also==
* [[List of military slang terms#Acronym slang|Acronym slang in the military]]
*AMF-YOYO - Adios Mother Fucker, You're On Your Own
* [[List of government and military acronyms]]
*[[BOHICA]] - Bend Over, Here It Comes Again
*"Charlie Foxtrot" - From the [[phonetic alphabet]] letters C and F, meaning [[wikt:clusterfuck|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
*[[wikt:SOL|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==
{{reflist}}


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
*''A Supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary'', R. W. Burchfield, ed., Volume IV Se-Z, 1986.

⚫
*{{cite book|last=Hakim|first=Joy|title=A History of Us: War, Peace and all that Jazz|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=1995| location=New York|isbn=0-19-509514-6}}
==Sources==
⚫
*{{cite book|last=Hakim|first=Joy|title=A History of Us: War, Peace and all that Jazz|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=1995| location=New York|isbn=0-19-509514-6}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{Wiktionary}}
*[http://www.acronymfinder.com/af-query.asp?String=exact&Acronym=SNAFU&Find=Find Acronym Finder's SNAFU entry]
*[http://www.acronymfinder.com/af-query.asp?String=exact&Acronym=SNAFU&Find=Find Acronym Finder's SNAFU entry]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090323040108/http://www.snafu.com/Snafu/SnafuStory.html How the term SNAFU originated]
*[http://catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/S/SNAFU-principle.html SNAFU Principle]
*[http://catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/S/SNAFU-principle.html SNAFU Principle]
*[http://www.archive.org/details/home_front Internet Archive: Private SNAFU - The Home Front (1943)] - This is one of 26 Private SNAFU cartoons made by the US Army Signal Corps to educate and boost the morale of the troops.
*[https://archive.org/details/home_front Internet Archive: Private SNAFU – The Home Front (1943)] – This is one of 26 Private SNAFU cartoons made by the US Army Signal Corps to educate and boost the morale of the troops.
*[http://www.the-snafu-special.com The SNAFU Special - Official website of the C-47 #43-15073]
*[http://www.the-snafu-special.com The SNAFU Special – Official website of the C-47 #43-15073]
*Episode 101 ([https://archive.org/download/CommandPerformance/CP_44-01-15_ep101-Frances_Langford__Virginia_OBrien.mp3 MP3 6M]) of [https://archive.org/details/CommandPerformance Command Performance] from 15 Jan 1944 includes a song about SNAFU by the [[Spike Jones]] band.


{{DEFAULTSORT:Snafu}}
[[Category:Acronyms]]
[[Category:Acronyms]]
[[Category:Military acronyms]]
[[Category:Military slang and jargon]]
[[Category:Military slang and jargon]]

[[da:SNAFU]]
[[de:SNAFU]]
[[fr:Situation Normal: All Fucked Up]]
[[it:SNAFU]]
[[nl:SNAFU]]
[[simple:SNAFU]]

Latest revision as of 15:29, 5 November 2024

For other uses, see Snafu.
Private Snafu was a series of instructional cartoons devised by Frank Capra and produced by Warner Brothers animators such as Chuck Jones for the US Army during World War II.

SNAFU is an acronym that is widely used to stand for the sarcastic expression Situation normal: all fucked up. It is a well-known example of military acronym slang. It is sometimes censored to "all fouled up" or similar.[1] It means that the situation is bad, but that this is a normal state of affairs. The acronym is believed to have originated in the United States Marine Corps during World War II.

In modern usage, SNAFU is used to describe running into an error or problem that is large and unexpected. For example, in 2005, The New York Times published an article titled "Hospital Staff Cutback Blamed for Test Result Snafu".[2] SNAFU also sometimes refers to a bad situation, mistake, or cause of trouble, and it is sometimes used as an interjection.

Origin

[edit]

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 ascribes the origin of SNAFU, FUBAR, and many other terms to cynical GIs ridiculing the army's penchant for acronyms.[3]

The first known publication of the term was by The Kansas City Star, on July 27, 1941.[4] It was subsequently recorded in American Notes and Queries in the September 1941 issue (which the Oxford English Dictionary in 1986 credited as the term's first appearance).[5] Time magazine used the term in its June 16, 1942, issue: "Last week U.S. citizens knew that gasoline rationing and rubber requisitioning were snafu."[5]

The attribution of SNAFU to the American military is not universally accepted: it has also been attributed to the British,[6] although the Oxford English Dictionary gives its origin and first recorded use as U.S. military slang.[5]

In a wider study of military slang, Elkin noted in 1946 that there "are a few acceptable substitutes such as 'screw up' or 'mess up,' but these do not have the emphasis value of the obscene equivalent." He considered the expression to be "a caricature of Army direction. The soldier resignedly accepts his own less responsible position and expresses his cynicism at the inefficiency of Army authority." He also noted that "the expression […] is coming into general civilian use."[7]

Similar acronyms

[edit]

SUSFU

[edit]

SUSFU is an acronym for Situation unchanged: still fucked up, but can also be bowdlerized—just like SNAFU—to Situation unchanged: still fouled up. It is used in a military context and was first recorded in the ANQ in their September 1941 issue.[citation needed]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Neary, Lynn. "Fifty Years of 'The Cat in the Hat'". NPR.org. NPR. Retrieved 2008-01-08. 'Situation Normal All . . . All Fouled Up,' as the first SNAFU animated cartoon put it
  2. ^ "Hospital Staff Cutback Blamed for Test Result Snafu", in: The New York Times, May 19 2005.
  3. ^ The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943–1944 (part of The Liberation Trilogy) by Rick Atkinson.
  4. ^ "Snafu, and All's Well". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, MO. July 27, 1941. p. 5. Retrieved April 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ a b c A Supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary, R. W. Burchfield, ed., Volume IV Se-Z, 1986.
  6. ^ Rawson's Dictionary of Euphemisms and Other Doubletalk. Chicago, IL 2002, Hugh Rawson.
  7. ^ Elkin, Frederick (March 1946), "The Soldier's Language", American Journal of Sociology, 51 (5 Human Behavior in Military Society), The University of Chicago Press: 414–422, doi:10.1086/219852, JSTOR 2771105, S2CID 144746694

Sources

[edit]
[edit]
Look up snafu in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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