etymology - Researching the real origin of SNAFU - English …
WEBDon Taylor. Roaring Fish found another etymology of SNAFU from Don Taylor (wayback). Taylor says in April or May of 1941 (before Pearl Harbor) during radio network training at Camp San Luis Obispo, California, it came from a mechanical coding device that scrambled messages into five letter code groups.
When did the word "snafu" enter the colloquial vernacular?
WEBApr 10, 2014 · Snafu is a service slang word compounded out of the initial letters of the words in a phrase politely translated: "Situation normal, all fouled up." Pernicious snafu is somethings called susfu, or "Situation unchanged,still fouled up." By the end of the war, evidently, editors no longer needed to define the term for their audiences.
Is using the word "snafu" instead of the word "problem" correct?
WEBFeb 29, 2016 · @TripeHound - "Relatively short period" is, of course, relative. A snafu typically doesn't develop over years, but more typically over a period of weeks or months, and occasionally hours or days. (The "Charge of the Light Brigade" was a classical snafu, developing in hours due to bungled communications in the command hierarchy.)
Are the acronyms FYI, BTW, LOL, WTF now considered "normal" …
WEBApr 13, 2017 · Regarding the reference to SNAFU, FUBAR and OK, the argument to be made is whether the original meaning, not the origins, is lost. "OK" is deceiving in that, while almost no one could state what the earliest-recorded expansion of the acronym is, we still use it in the same general meaning.
Word for abbreviations that have become standard words
WEBFeb 24, 2014 · The word snafu, for example, was originally an obscene U.S. Army reference (situation normal -- all f'ed up"), and fad is purportedly originally an acronym for "for a day". Some terms, such as AWOL, seem to be stuck in between-- they are almost used as words, but equally almost always capitalized.
What is the term for words that have changed meaning over time?
WEBNov 26, 2012 · For example, in relation to this question on Workplace Stack Exchange the term snafu was of military origin and was used to define a person, team, organisation, etc that continually makes mistakes. The first time I saw the term was in relation to a data protection leak and this now seems a pretty common usage e.g this article amongst the …
"Hot mess" meaning and etymology - English Language & Usage …
WEBAs i have always used it: "Mess" is a complicated failure condition, as in SNAFU, as in "all messed up," as in the Southern endearment to a goofy person, "you're such a mess." "Hot" is a situation to stay away from, as in a "hot potato," or a newspaper editor shying from a story that's "too hot to handle," because it will ruffle the wrong feathers.
History of 'acronym' versus 'initialism'? - English Language
WEBNov 6, 2020 · acronym n: a word (as radar, snafu) formed from the initial letter or letters of each of the successive parts or major parts of a compound term The full-size Webster's Third New International Dictionary (1961) amplifies on the Seventh Collegiate 's entry only to the extent of appending three examples to the end of the definition: "(as anzac ...
Do you use "a" or "an" before acronyms / initialisms?
WEBAug 16, 2010 · a URL, a snafu, a Charlie Foxtrot, a moron the URL, the snafu, the Charlie Foxtrot, the moron (all pronounced /ðə/) Most native English speakers never notice that there are two different pronunciations for the, but non-native English speakers need to know this immediately.
What does “It’s just another day in paradise.” mean in political and ...
WEBJul 21, 2018 · Consider the following for context: “Getting along with Russia would be a good thing, not a bad thing,” the U.S. president said in April – a sentiment he has voiced many times before and since, going back to his days as a presidential candidate.