Talk:Snafu

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[edit] Misnamed

This article is Snafu when it should be SNAFU since it is an acronym. Actually, two of the entries are acronyms, one where it should be Snafu is a proper term and not an acronym. There a couple of things which could be done to resolve this:

  1. Break up the articles into there own entries. E.g. SNAFU (acronym), SNAFU (operating system) and Snafu. Then make the SNAFU entry a disam page.
  2. Leave the Snafu definition in the Snafu entry and move the acronyms to SNAFU (now a redirect to Snafu). Make notes on both entries indicating the other meaning of the term.

Of course, due diligence requires all the updating of wikilinks to the correct articles. I lean towards option two since it is the easiest, but I don't have time to carry out the due diligence right now, so I won't do the first part. Anyway, that's my $.02 on the issue. If anyone feels so inclined to make the change, please do so. I don't watch this article, so I probably won't be revisiting this issue, but it does need to be corrected. —Frecklefoot 15:33, Mar 16, 2004 (UTC)

I've split this up as best I can. Matt 20:08, 9 May 2006 (UTC)
  1. full capitalisation: not nearly necessary in my view. Go and read Acronym and Abbreviation for context. 'Acronyms pronounced as words' such as this one - which are almost never spelled out fully - can acceptably be rendered with a single capital or no capital at all. --Air 12:45, 15 Jul 2004 (UTC)
  1. the 'snafu' OS (note no caps at all) could potentially have a stub page of its own, but given the lack of content is probably fine as a footnote for now. --Air 12:45, 15 Jul 2004 (UTC)
    1. Actually, I'd dispense with the OS altogether. Google search for snafu "operating system" does return its page as the top link, fllowed by a couple of WP clones, however that doesn't really say much when the rest of the top 50 results are all articles which just happen to have "snafu" and "operating system" on the same page, as opposed ot actual references to an OS called SNAFU. Commenting out for now. 82.6.10.139 16:25, 22 Aug 2004 (UTC)
Further more, Alexa-wise, its home page doesn't even dent the bottom of the scale.

[edit] Modern usage of SNAFU

In my personal experience the current usage of SNAFU is, as the original usage was, one which includes the implication that the _general_ situation (e.g. the 'situation normal') is in some way seriously messed up not just the _particular_ incident which is being pointed out.

In other words just as the acronym states.

Most dictionary entries seem to be too sketchy to be of much use and, of course, people can be found arguing both ways. I suggest that unless a more authorative source is found / investigation made that the main article should (at the least) be less definite than is implied by the sentence "In modern parlance it refers to a normal situation that suddenly went awry."

  • The article now reflects that --Tomheaton 10:11, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Outside the US some people use it for 'Standard North American F*** Up' but this would not last long in the main article.... mikeL

  • I've never heard that myself. "Standard North American Fuck Up" returns no hits on google. But if you have something that can back up your point of view then I would add it to the article as an alternative. Just because it's an anti-american joke doesn't mean that it should be included. And to be honest it's not going to be a hotly disputed article anyway.--Tomheaton 10:11, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

The first time I met snafu was 30 or 40 years ago in a novel(can't remember which) and this was the definition given. It could have been used during the war or maybe the author just dreamed it up... mikeL

I readded the modern usage of snafu as being a normal situation that suddenly goes awry. This is a very commone usage (at least here in the US), to the point that some people don't believe me when I tell them that it's an acronym for 'situation normal...' Lachatdelarue (talk) 02:37, 1 Jun 2005 (UTC)

". . . have originated in the US Army during World War II, It was the name of a cartoon U.S. Army training video as well as the main character in the video". OK I know that it was the name of a cartoon, or maybe a cartoon film, but definately not a cartoon video during WWII, since video as a medium for motion picture was not in general use until much later in the 20th century. HAE 16:02, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

There was some game called Snafu and spelled that way, not all with caps, where you had to get a small marble-like metal ball through a maze of different obstacles, has anyone heard of this game?

Isn't there a band called Snafu? --WildKard84 00:53, 14 August 2006 (UTC)!

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