A situation or event that has become totally ruined or ridiculously confused or chaotic. Originally a military slang acronym for "situation normal, all fouled/fucked up." Sometimes still capitalized as an acronym. Primarily heard in US. I spent the whole weekend sorting out a huge snafu with our automated ticketing system. Apparently it sent out thousands of tickets to the wrong people all around the country. The federal government is suing the state government, which was already suing the federal government for trying to sue the state government. What a SNAFU!