s.n.a.f.u., n. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

s.n.a.f.u. n.

also g.a.f.u.

[abbr. situation normal, all fucked up (fouled up can provide a euph. substitute); also god almighty fuck-up; orig. a WWII milit. catchphrase, s.n.a.f.u. quickly entered mainstream sl. and generated a number of variations, although none has had the same impact (cf. f.i.g.m.o. phr.; f.u.b.a.r. adj.; f.u.b.b. phr.; f.u.b.i.s. phr.; f.u.m.t.u. phr.; m.f.u.t.u. phr.; s.a.m.f.u. n.; s.a.p.f.u. phr.; s.u.s.f.u. phr.; t.a.r.f.u. phr.; t.u.i.f.u. n.)]

(orig. US milit.) a mistake, an error, a situation that has gone awry, often within an institution or organization.

1941		S.F. Chronicle 15 June 5/4: ‘Snafu’ means ‘situation normal, all fuddled up.’.
1946		P. Bowman Beach Red 45: It was rough and rugged. A complete snafu. The sons of bitches sucked us in and we caught everything but the Goddam boat going home.
1953		A. Kahn Brownstone 180: Maybe they’ll get bolixed up in Army snafu and forget about me.
1960		(con. WWII) G. Sire Deathmakers 105: How’d we get the boyscouts in this snafu?
1972		D. Pendleton Boston Blitz (1974) 129: He’s blaming this whole snafu on you boys.
1982		(con. 1970) J.M. Del Vecchio 13th Valley (1983) 1: It was one more snafu in a series of snafus.
1988		(con. WWII) McGill Dict. of Kiwi Sl. 48/1: GAFU God Almighty fuckup; the WWII NZ Second Expeditionary Force variation of the RAF’s SNAFU (Situation Normal All Fucked Up), usually a reference to decisions that landed fighting men in impossible situations.
[1990		(con. c.1970) G. Hasford Phantom Blooper 14: I say with an exaggerated gook accent: ‘This is General Vo Nguyen Giap speaking. Situation normal, all fucked up.’].
2001		(con. 1964–8) J. Ellroy Cold Six Thousand 43: Moore wrote up the crap-game snafu. One guy lost a kneecap. One guy lost two pints of blood.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. [as cit. 1988].
2007		T. Oliphant Utter Imcompetents 169: This huge snafu, moreover, engulfed a program that was not even operating.
2013		E. Kurz ‘A Good Marriage’ in ThugLit Apr. [ebook] [J]ust some girl who laughed at a silly man’s wine snafu.
2014		D. MacShane Prison Diaries 315: I had the pleasure of explaining the meaning of ‘snafu’ to a pleasant, helpful secretary this morning.
2023		(con. 1962) J. Ellroy Enchanters 136: ‘We’ve got him for CCW in that Muslim snafu’.