SNAFU facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

SNAFU or snafu is an acronym that the United States Military first used. Civilians now use it as well. It stands for Situation Normal: All (Fouled/Francis) Up.

In modern times, it means a situation that was occurring normally but then suddenly began to go wrong. For example:

The general's visit this week-end went well until we hit a snafu. Everything went wrong after that.

Snafu is used mostly as a noun. It can also be used as a verb but usually in the passive sense. For instance, someone would say:

The general's visit this week-end went well until it snafued. Everything went wrong after that.

But they would probably not say:

The general's visit this week-end went well until we snafued it.

Images for kids

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.

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SNAFU Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.