Snafu
Snafu… what exactly does it mean? And where did it come from?
There is some profanity in this lesson, so, not for the kids if that concerns you.
Here is a funny old movie with the word sanfu and booby trap (two words/phrases that I have done).
Thanks prospero811 for pointing it out 
Oh no!! My eyes are hurting…. I’ve been watching every video first to last! Only half done… Keep making more so I can go blind!! (On second thought just make more please!!)
F.U.B.A.R. = “Fucked Up Beyond All Repair/Recognition”
Would your acronym be “fubar” or f***ed up beyond any repair?
Yes FUBAR…fu..ed up beyond all recognition.
This origined from GI’s fighting in Germany during second World War 2. They heard the Krauts say “Furchtbar” very often, which means as much as CRUEL.
And because Americans weren’t very skilled and talented in german language they said the word incorrectly and this sounded like “FUBAR”…and because this soldiers didn’t know the right meaning they just sais that from now on it should be a shortening.
I hope you did understand me, because i am not very talented in english language either^^
Free Milk—Why buy the cow, when you can get the milk for free? This was my random lesson and until the next one peace out
The word in question is “FUBAR” F***ed up beyound all reason. or
F***ed up beyond all repair. Whishever one you prefer.
FUBAR I have been there many nights!
The Word you’re talking about is FUBAR. Fucked Up Beyond All Repair. and the Canadian Army Strikes again.
Ok now the reply boxes are working now. Hummmm… strange…
Ok this page is really messed up. Big time FUBAR!!!!!!
Marina, The Reply is not working. I reloaded and still the server refuses to post replies on this blog page.
Bobsully, Thats what I thought it was until I watched the video then I noticed it changed from what I remembered it to be. Its not the same video as before. The video was uploaded on May 10th. Notice our comments started on April 28th. So what was changed? Two things. Can you find them???
I miss the rating stars
reruns? Is it Summer already?
Thats what I thought!
But when I watched it I notice something different. Its a new video. Check the upload date on YouTube. 
Also the video has a few changes in it. Watch it again as see if you notice what she changed. 
I noticed two of them.
I only noticed two also…love the eye roll after, …”and your sister”
Thats what I thought it was until I watched the video then I noticed it changed from what I remembered it to be. Its not the same video as before. The video was uploaded on May 10th. Notice our comments started on April 28th. So what was changed? Two things. Can you find them???
I can only come up with a cat and a dog in the intro and a beep for the curse words and maybe the word “censored” on the black box? Its all a big maybe for me!
Yea it used to say ‘fouled up’ and not ‘f**ed up’. The censor box. The bleeps. I didn’t notice the cat and dog was different. Must have missed that one.
A more censored version? I still don’t get the point.
Another great video, oh teacher of mine.
I had a question for you – What is the proper usage of WHOM versus usage of WHO?
When do you use which one, and why?
I have two potential answers:
WTF – What the fuck?!
FUBAR – Fucked up beyond all recognition
I’m going to go back to bed now
scientists thieving bastards but only after he decides to let them have it.
You woke me up again.
I love that one…now, “Shut the f*** off” JK!!
Hmm….also FIGMOH.
FUBAR…but how about Spiro Agnew. Not the Vice-President under Nixon, but the military term. Or Charlie Foxtrot….
Marina, why do we never get to see your sister? Is she your evil, raven haired twin? Was she horribly disfigured in the plane crash? Did her air bags pop? Does she hold the secret to where the family jewels are laid? Are you Siamese, er, Russian twins who were seperated at birth? Will she ever be able to play the piano again? Or do you simply suffer from a split personality, like that nice young fellow Norman, who ran the Bates Motel just off the main highway??? So many questions, so little time…
All those questions you sound like a scientist.
Not only is her absentminded evil twin sister as bright as a pilot light, she’s also a raven lunatic! (And I thought ravens could fly…)
Marina, I think you should explain “booby trap”, lol. I always thought it was the hook and loop system that they put in the back of bras (and just when you got used to that they moved it to the front!). Great old cartoon, BTW. Mel Blanc doing Bugs Bunny’s voice as the soldier. Probably meant for the troops being shipped to North Africa at the time from the desert environment… The Great Patriotic War aka WW2.
SNAFU – SITUATION NORMAL ALL F*UCKED UP
like FUBAR and BOHICA
what is BOHICA??
Another military acronym: Bend Over, Here It Comes Again!
yep, FUBAR it is…
Marina, your sister is hawt…
my girlfriend wants to know where’s the woman’s version of Hot for words?
Wow!
I think this is FUBAR.
I’m getting confused.
Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition ,
Tango and Cash – movie…means what it says,nothing else ….thats its place
FUBAR
We all figured out that the word is FUBAR. One of my all time favorites is used to describe someone who likes to toot his/her own horn: FIGJAM. That acronym means: Fuck I’m Great, Just Ask Me.
Good day all!
Dear teacher
the new addenda was great. Thank you for the piece of old time american cartoon.
Amicalement
Don Felipe
FUBAR – F@@@ED UP BEYOND ALL REPAIR!
I tried to repair those @ signs. Didn’t work.
Snafu: Man that an old cartoon. Never seen it before. You probably had to see it in a movie theather during WWII because of the “sex stuff”. It’s Mel Blanc for sure!
correction: FUBAR fucked up beyond all recognition
FUBAR f*d up beyond all recognition. *bows*
Hi!!
May be: FUCK = ‘Fornication Under Consent of the King’
Hello Marina,
In the military we use the term “FUBR”, Fucked Up Beyond Recognition…I hope this the answer you’re looking for!
- So messed up beyond repair –
irreparable – irreversible – irretrievable – severe – lasting – irrevocable – irremediable – irredeameable – uncorrectable -unsalvageable
- Botched up -
substandard – poor – spoiled – ruined – bungled – slipshod – inferior
Marina
This is what I conjured up I hope that it will increase my grade if not please feel free to state a battle of words just is or isn’t the game for ye’
Greg
Another interesting thing is the “up” in “snafu” and “fuck up”. I’m guessing that the situation must be either standing up or riding on top…
I will use “SNAFU” much more often now!
I guess that’s Buggs Bunny’s voice prior to being associated with Buggs.
How bee-zaaarree!
A lot of the guys associated with the SNAFU cartoons were also associated with Bugs Bunny and the rest. Mel Blanc – Fritz Frehling et al.
fuck’d up beyond all reason FUBAR
fuck’d up more than usual FUMTU
Hi, fubar is the word your looking for. Another great acronym the military gave us is BOHICA, Bend Over Here It Comes Again….lol.
Thanks Forrest
My granddad was a fighter pilot in the South Pacific in ww2, and his plane was called the “Miss Snafu” XD
The acronym FUBAR stands for Fucked up Beyond All Repair…
AceTheBathnound
atbh
What is the meaning and the origin of the word “boondoggle”. In Canada at least, they use this word when talking about government. I almost don’t believe it’s a real word, it might just be something that stupid politicians and reporters started saying one day
Looka hya, mking3.
boondoggle Look up boondoggle at Dictionary.com
1935, Amer.Eng., of uncertain origin, popularized during the New Deal as a contemptuous word for make-work projects for the unemployed. Said to have been a pioneer word for “gadget.”
Thanks for the definition. This doesn’t seem to be the context in which it is used in the media. On the news and in Parliament, it is used in a very negative way, usually when the government is being accused of having screwed something up, such as a gun registry program that was supposed to cost $1million but balloon to a cost of $1billion.
Is the media using this word in the wrong way, has the meaning changed?
Who knows?
The media is(/are) nuts!
FUBAR
WORD REQUEST
I know it is a little difficult to track down etymologies of slang expressions, but I am hoping you can help in this case, as my research has come to a dead end. I write a lot about the sport of boxing and run a website http://www.cyberboxingzone.com and am constantly asked the origin of the following two words that are used in boxing:
Palooka
Tomato Can
both mean essentially the same thing — a lousy fighter.
Palooka was taken by Ham Fisher for his “Joe Palooka” comic strip, but it existed certainly as early as 1923. I have narrowed it down to two theories (both might be wrong) — Palooka was a dance during the Roaring 20s similar to the Charleston. Or, it was simply created by a sportswriter Frank G. Menke circa 1923.
As far as Tomato Can — I don’t have much beyond theory — urban children used to play a game called kick the can (guess the rules!). I suspect Tomato Can was applied to a fighter who usually got “kicked around.”
Help me teacher! And if you need me to send any sources for my prior research just let me know. I think you could deal with these in one knockout of a video! (Yes, lame pun intended).
FWIW, you could check out “tomato can” here.
Wordlover — the wiki is totally useless as to the history of the word– and the guess at the underlying meaning (One characteristic which may account for the use of the “tomato can” metaphor for a bad boxer is the tendency to leak red fluid (tomato juice/blood) when battered) is the first time I have heard that! But thanks for the post — it proves once again how lame the wiki stuff can be.
Hopefully teacher can shed some light on the origin of these synonyms.
Wiki has some good shit, though; that is, if you can look past the NPOV¹ policy. I’ve done some work there and continue to. WP² gets a bad rap because it is frequently vandalised. For example, someone dissed John Siegenthaler in the wiki article and he must’ve got his revenge one way or another. In short, there are over a million articles, not all of them suck, y’know!
¹Neutral Point Of View.
²Wikipedia.
Word Request: Shoplift
hello,
i have a request for the phrase “to be frank.” wht do people say this when they aren’t frank? is there some famous frank guy that everyone wants to be?
thank you
@#%! ! oh!cool!
@#%! hugh thats fine! 
situation normal,
all @#%!ed up.
cool!!!!!!!!
I have a request for the word Dopamine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9COI_ya8cQ&feature=related
it’ FUBAR
FUBAR. For computer systems, most of the demo or learning material usually uses Fubar as the name of a program or object or sample.
Marina,
The other acronym is FUBAR (Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition)
XOXOXOXOXO
George
I recognize that I did not know this word (Yes, i know, one more). I’m really happy to learn a lot of expression on your site.
It’s funny because, here in France SNAFU was the name of an association of students “Super Neurones Associés pour la Finance Universelle. ” It means something like “Super Associated Neurons for Universal Finance”.
Just for kidding, (but it’s true).
Kisses from France…
Bibul
Out on Sunday with some family and got thinking about the word, family.
(F)ather (A)nd (M)other (I) (L)ove (Y)ou.
Loves it!!
Hi,
So I thought it would be a good wordrequest. 
I don’t know what an infidel is. I asked soo many people, but they don’t know what it means.
Word Request:
I was at a large retail hardware/garden center recently and it to brought to mind something that has always troubled me.
Why are “annuals” plants which only last one season and “perennials” listed as those who return year after year?
I though “annual” meant every year, as in The 12th Annual Webby Awards. (for which this site should be a nominee
)
What’s up with that?
Thank you,
Scott
–Origin of SOS–
Excerpt from
The Telegraph Office Magazine
Volume II, Issue 1
“‘SOS,’ ‘CQD’ and the History of Maritime Distress Calls”
by Neal McEwen, K5RW
] Mystery, intrigue as well as misinformation surrounds the origin and use of maritime distress calls. The general populace believes that “SOS” signifies “Save Our Ship.” Casual students of radio history are aware that “CQD” preceded the use of “SOS.” Why were these signals adopted? When were they used? Why did one replace the other? What is one likely to find by digging a little deeper? [
]The first recorded American use of “SOS” was in August of 1909. Wireless operator T. D. Haubner of the SS Arapahoe radioed for help when his ship lost its screw near Diamond Shoals, sometimes called the “Graveyard of the Atlantic.[
]It is well documented in personal accounts of Harold Bride, second Radio Officer, and in the logs of the SS Carpathia, that the Titanic first used “CQD” to call for help. When Captain Smith gave the order to radio for help, first radio officer Jack Phillips sent “CQD” six times followed by the Titanic call letters, “MGY.” Later, at Brides suggestion, Phillips interspersed his calls with “SOS.”
[
Not the Titanic as everyone believes.
To save space on HFW blog please read the whole store at:
http://www.telegraph-office.com/pages/arc2-2.html
Yea its a long article but if you keep reading you will find out that ‘XXX’ was used as an urgent signal. I wonder if there is a link to the movie rating X,XX,XXX?
May Day, Pan Pan, Sécurité are still used today. Morse code is no longer used.
~~__/)__~~
Hello all stations (USCG says hello all stations when getting our attention on channel 16), Check out my friends blog posting some basic origins regarding MAYDAY, PAN PAN, SECURITE. Not very detailed but it gets the point across.
http://captrichardrodriguez.blogspot.com/2008/04/hello-all-stations.html
Also Marinas video about the term 3 sheet to the wind is on his site.
http://captrichardrodriguez.blogspot.com/2008/04/nautical-terms-three-sheets-to-wind.html
Oh I almost forgot. Captain John Baird asked me to post his word request. He wants to know the origin of the word ‘NEWS’. He says it comes from the compass points North, East, West, South. Makes sense but is he correct? I know the answer to this request but I don’t want to spoil the video if you plan to make one.
/)
I am an Army Reservist currently seeing the world using the Uncle Sam travel agency. The other commonly used acronym is FUBAR, as stated above. There is another one: BOHICA, pronounced “bo-he-ka”. What it means is below.
Can any guess, or tell, where the phrase “spring loaded in the dumb position” came from. A hint is: ask a rotorhead.
Lostinhere
PS: BOHICA – Bend Over, Here It Comes Again (we’re screwed!)
Some functions or systems in an aircraft that have a critical effect on the aircraft’s behaviour are protected by a spring-loaded switch which has to be held against the spring’s force to arm or enable their use.
However, as a lifelong rotorhead, I can’t think why this should particularly apply to helicopters unless it has something to do with the sloppy link between the cyclic and the collective controls.
(Don’t worry if you don’t understand the sloppy link joke; it’s a technical reference only the smartest rotorheads will understand)
For a very funny list of other terms for stupidity go to this site.
I never heard of the term sloppy link before. But im still new in the field of that spiny thing over head. I fly RC helis and my models have sloppy links in the control rods to my fly bar.
I still believe in the very old saying that helicopters can not fly, they just beat the air into submission. Oh and yet they can out glide an F-4 phantom any day of the week.
/)
You’ve got it, Jack; a sloppy link is a mechanism used for translating a control input into a hydraulic output. There is no such link between the cyclic and collective in the helicopter’s hardware; the reference is to the pilot’s hands.
Hey Bob, I’m mostly a happy guy, I work hard, am thankful my wife has put up with me 25yrs… thats love.
“Love” The word is hard to define without context, so sorry if you got me or CS Lewis quote misunderstood but that happems alot I find in written communication, especially when space & time limit context.
The 4 loves simply put, can be confused & redifined into many subcategories….ah it’s too complicated. Somebody more famious than me said “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” Nice simple statement, explored, studied, rumminated upon, embraced… for centuries. i love reading the quotes that pop up on this site. Random or Marina picks? anybodies guess eh. cheers
PS best advise I ever got “Be tender hearted and thick skinned”
Word request: LOLLAPALOOSA I think this is one fucked up word and i would like you to tell me where it came from lol
Hey,
Word request: fiasco
Marina, here is a good word to philologize on “inklings”. Oh i got too work tomorrow . Bye
WORD REQUEST: Luxury
Hi Marina, Hi All. I wish to know the origin of word Luxury because it is strange: Luxury is the word used to describe the best style of life, super cars, yatch, armani, versace etc… but “Lux-” is a latin word that means light. Why is there this association between these words?
In italian language Luxury is Lusso and Lust is Lussuria, they have same origin “Luss-”, is there another association between Lusso and Lussuria?
Hey Marina, This sound like an interesting word. Any thoughts on this word?
FUBAR
Fucked up beyond all recognition (relief, repair)
Hey Marina,
My roomate and I were debating the origin of the phrase “rubber match”. this refers to having a third match between two people if they each won one of the first two matches. Or a best out of three concept. Please tell us where this phrase came from. thanks, I love your lessons.
d-bo
Hello
Word request: “malaise”
I have an uneasy feeling about that request….
That was tooooooooooo easy…………FUBAR Fucked up beyond repair!!!!!!!! LMAO
Оно изумительный что большая смотря и говоря русская повелительница smogла быть настолько полезна к гуманности в этих день и время. Я салютую вам. Простите моему плохому русскому, но я пытаюсь улучшить на том больше. Вы воодушевляли меня выполнить более лучше и стать более лучшей персоной. Пожалуйста держите вверх по хорошему слову.
Я также имею один запрос для слов.
«lethologica», пожалуйста расшифровывает для меня начало и причиняет этому явления. Спасибо и объятия и поцелуи… Фред
«Lethologica»—да, доброе слово!
I actually know this one its FUBAR Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition
old cartoons are great
Hi teach
A “great tit” is a bird found in Africa.
A female friend has a number of these birds in her avery.
When I said that she had “great tits” she slapped me.
Was she offended by my grammar???
Maybe HFW should investigate?
Why does the bird – “great tit” have nothing to do with “t.ts” or “titillate”.
lots of love
from australia.
Hello Marina,
How’s it going my favorite teacher!!
Hey I’m a new student here, and I was wondering what do I need to do to become the “Teacher’s pat for the day”?
Oh and my word request is “Love”
What’s origin of the word “Love”
Please please tell me the origin of the word “nemesis”!
Kthxbai.
I’ll try this 1. what’s the origin of the word “May Day”.
today you got your wish, mayday.. Your Favorite cub Sammy Sosa eh? BTW you should ask Marina if she knows who is the Russian Rocket or better yet How he got called that (name origin). Do your Chicago Teams ‘ fans do the wave. I know where that wave thing started. Do you? Cheers
Almost I did but I did not mention why.Not quite Sammy Sosa. My favorite now is Koske Fukudome. I have not a chance to her about the Russian Rocket yet. Yes I we Chicago fans do the wave but I have no idea where? Tell me when you get a chance. Hagn!
http://www.usedvictoria.com/classified-ad/5668656&category=hockey-cards “Soccer” Vancouver Whitecaps. I used to go over to Vancouver Empire stadium & yes the wave was started before 1980 to taunt the opposition as the whitecaps wave at least a year or two before the Oakland A’s claimed to have started it. with crazy George Henderson in April 1981.
Is Kelly P. your regular singer in the 7th inning stretch http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=T0r9hAfGSnU&feature=related
You think your man Koske is better than Seattles’ Ichiro Suzuki… its close? Went to seattle & saw Randy Johnson pitch a game. he mowed my team (Toronto) down all nine innings.power pitching wow. http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=MwYYSd7Sgbs
ic, I would say Kosuke is just getting started. Ichiro is a excellent hitter. Yep, Kosuke is already a fan favorite. What is your you tube name?
Two suggestions for future words.
Cookie, and “y’all”.
Would really love to learn the history of the word y’all!
Ahoy Ahoy. I have 2 words to choose from. Boogeyman & Unbridled.
Thanks, and keep ‘defining’ a new era in teaching.
Hi Marina, I am curious as to the work bologna. My Belgium Grandma pronounced it just as its spelled, while the rest of us call it bolonie. And why does it refer to a flat piece of meat that taste like a hotdog and can also be used in response to what someone has said to you and you respond back ” Oh Bolonie”
Thanks for the learning experience on enriching my work power.
Splinter808
And for tdwnarrows, maybe you should learn how to use the parental controls that can be used for blocking sites for you children? Or you can screen the videos 1st and then let the see the ones you want
Hi Marina,
Acronymph request… higurkejudusavogegadfahenimixajeki
WTF?
I’ve always wondered the Origin of the phrase
“Dropped the Dime”
like to snitch or to tell
I mean what the heck does that have to do with dimes
Forreal
The phrase “Dropped a dime” dates back to when it would cost a dime to make a phone call from a pay phone. So a snitch would “drop a dime” to call and inform to the cops on someone. The phrase didn’t change when payphones went to twenty five cents and then later to even more, the phrase just stuck.
Very interesting.
What about the word “Snitch”?
Fubar=
:::::::::::::::::
F.ucked
U.p
B.eyond
A.ll
R.epair
how about the word “corny”
That answer is FUBAR Fucked up beyond all repair…..
Hi Marina. What’s the origin and meaning of the word “the”?
Thanks
Hello Marina!!!!
Wich is the origin of the word “cameo”?
Kisses from Argentina.
Hello,
My sister used a word the today and I had no idea what it means. Can you help? The word is “Infatuated”. Thank you
Justin
What are you inslimuating?
Of course, unlike the Private Snafu movie, we aren’t fascinated by big, round boobs these days…
Who are you kidding? My neanderthal instincts might argue that point.
zug zug.
Where are you captainjack?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldrxR9X-a3o&feature=related
I is here. Where that might be? Across the 7 seas. In search of true love, a tall ship, and a magic compass to steer them all by.
“May the Winds be at your Back and the Stars to Guide you by.”
~~ _/)_ ~~
Oh, where am I? Exactly? Ok, you asked.
47º38.10′N by 122º20.35′W
You can visit my website for a map of my little sailing yacht.
Just click on my name. Why do you ask? Are your the paparazzi or a G man?
Co-ordinates entered in fire-control system, Sir.
Some nice boats in that MARINA, Jack, but I was wondering how you were going to set a spinnaker on that motor cruiser. (Until I went to your web site)
Aye aye, captain. Those fine twin bouys will mark your passage… now we just need a derivation for “zug zug”…
*chortle*
Did you start out as a buoy scout?
Bob, thats not my motor boat. Its an old photo from Google.
You like the nice boats parked in that MARINA hu? I’m getting very good at parking my boat in the slip. I try to practice as much I can. One weekend I slip it in and out of the MARINA twice in one day. I tried to set the spinnaker but broke the spinner so I only have a naker. Its a bit naked without the spinner.
Lividemerald, No I never was in buoy scouts. I wish I could have joined, but my step mother was very abusive and supportive. She would not let me join.
Presumined, Red buoys are called nuns and Green buoys are called cans. We have some of the best looking cans in the Pacific North West. One day when I was sailing my boat, I came to close and I touched a can. The boom on my boat slapped me on the side of my face.
I learned my lesson on that one I think. 
The answer is F.U.B.A.R. Fucked Up Beyond All Repair. I still would like to know where Stool Pidgeon came from.
Your use of slang was really meaningless and detracted from this video. I do not understand why you introduced the other woman yelling to you. The animals were cute until you used them too much.
I don’t think you were feeling good when you did this one.
As I am sure many people have already said, I think the term you are looking for is FUBAR.
However one of my personal favorites and another common term in the United States military is BOHICA (Bend Over, Here It Comes Again) which is usually used when your commanding officer is reaming you out (ream or reaming being my suggested word) or under similar situations.
Love your outtakes
Word suggestion: how about “computer bug”? or “glitch”?
Thanks!
“Computer bug” would probably make a good game because I’ve heard multiple origins about it.
I too would like to know since I programmed computers for many years. I’m curious what the OED says.
Marian you are such a naughty girl, but your teaching is very instructive. You never have a snafu. That little wink at the end makes me wonder if you are a coquette. Who is coquette and when was it first used to describe one?
FUBAR … Fucked Up Beyond All Reason.
Now that was funny Marina and I enjoyed it.
Not to worry about the profanity in the earlier post it was appropriate my Dear not too mention HOT.
An Admirer
Billy
TX
i always wondered the origin of the word “whine”
what is the origin of the word “Taboo” and thanks for the video very enlightening.
I have a theory on the origin of the word “fuck”. Let me know if you want to hear it.
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge????
That origin is actually false; I think she talked about that word on her first Maxim radio show appearance.
Well, I though I would throw it out there since VanHalen/Hagar used
‘ For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge ‘ as a Title to one of their CD’s that included the song – Poundcake and some other great songs too..
It was only a thought so oh well. Thank you for replying and showing me the error I made now I will have to try and find Marina’s Radio SHow library so I can learn what she taught at the time. Thannks again….
No, although I would word it “Forced Unlawful Carnal Knowledge”.
Rather, I think its origin suggests not “banging against” but rather “breeding”. In Dutch, there’s a strikingly-similar-sounding word for “to breed”: fokken. Note, however, that this term is not considered offensive in Dutch. So, a (well-known) sentence like “Ik fok parden.” doesn’t mean, “I fuck horses.” but “I breed horses.” Which, in turn, could perhaps suggest “I make horses fuck.”
Oh, for some reason I thought that the R in FUBAR stood for “relief”. I suppose “recovery” would work too. Whatever.
FUBAR…Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition
Hi Marina,
We named our company Rhimba. We invented the word or so we thought. We’ve been told by some people that it has been around for a long time. I haven’t been able to find any record of this. What do you think? Can you guess which words we meshed together to create the name? You can see our company at http://www.rhimba.com
FUBAR stands for Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition and was at least a weekly occurance during my time in the Army.
Hi there!! I was wondering where the word “but” came from. As in “I wanted to go the to the movies BUT I had to do some house cleaning.” Thanks a lot and havea great day!
I’ve never heard you curse before it was shocking
. Well, not really.
Anyways, Marina–the other night some friends and I were drinking and trying to create a drinking game that related to your show (we couldn’t figure one out, maybe some suggestions?). So that brought up a word idea, could you do an episode describing the origin of the word Alcohol, or drunk, or booze? Or perhaps another word in the same category? Thanks!
Hahaha!
That old cartoon was cheezely funny!
Umm I have a request about the phase,the bottom line.
That or the final straw.
Both confuse me alot.
Thanks teach!
<3
you would be exhausted because you have many students!, but my note is about “Things are in a mess”… i consider that your introduce to this video is funiest that i remember, and consider too that you are very good teacher really… greetings from colombia my dear teacher!!!!
Most of us enjoy them, i want to know about the word ‘cocktail’.
thanks and hope to hear about this soon.
Situation Normal: All F*&@^d Up
Hello Marina,
I am a leech. But which leech am I. I hope I am a Celt or a Slavic or an old English leech. And sometimes I feel very comfortable acting a bit like an aquatic worm. Maybe you can help me to fix this. Solve the mystery of
leech.
And there is another thing, but this is quite easy for you I think.
Can you or someone else tell me and thereby others about the abbreviations: O.Dan , P.Gmc , cf. O.N. , O.H.G.
Ir. , M.E. , Gk.
Bye dear Marina
o.dan. = old danish,
p.gmc. = proto-germanic,
cf. = confer,
o.n. = old norse,
o.h.g. = old high german,
ir. = irish,
m.e. = middle english,
gk. = greek.
Thesaurus
Is there another word for ‘Thesaurus’?
Where did it come from?
Большое спасибо.
hi can you find the origin of the term ‘wet willy’? thnks
I’ve always wondered about “dirty sanchez” myself.
This is particularly bizarre; especially the part about Screech!
Snafu is worse than being hornswaggled and bamboozled both together.
My word request is ‘vanitas’, a rather important concept that is all-encompassing, yet understood by so few. A concept that can be used to explain such simple things as why Marina typo’d snafu into ’sanfu’ above. Sanfu and booby trap? That sounds neither intelligent nor sexy. Sanfu must be a snafu’d snafu, apparently.
Speaking of intelligence = sex, I can’t help but wonder if the youtube phenom that runs this website is familiar with TED.com, the youtube of intellectual discussion. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design… all words that pertain to our trusty teacher. Here’s a sample of a TED video pertaining to the science of romantic love (i.e. the mechanics of mating), one that can be beneficial to both the admired and the admirers here at HotForWords.com:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/16
It’s a lecture by Dr. Helen Fisher about how love is a drive, not just an emotion. Any philophile worth their salt, especially one worth their sea salt, should check it out. Get to understand themselves and others when it comes ‘the word’… which every Beatles fan knows is ‘Love’.
Glad to see this site has improved since I was here last. I don’t have to call in my muscle after all. Don’t make me call in the little guy from my gravatar… he’s a bit too muscular for most.
Peace and love, Errin : )
Regarding snafus, I wanted to share the lyrics from The Fixx song ‘One Thing Leads To Another’. It is apropos to a lot of things
One Thing Leads To Another
The deception with tact, just what are you trying to say?
You’ve got a blank face, which irritates
Communicate, pull out your party piece
You see dimensions in two
State your case with black or white
But when one little cross leads to shots, grit your teeth
You run for cover so discreet, why don’t they:
Do what they say, say what you mean
One thing leads to another
You told me something wrong, I know I listen too long
But then one thing leads to another.
The impression that you sell
Passes in and out like a scent
But the long face that you see comes from living close
To your fears
If this is up then I’m up but you’re running out of sight
You’ve seen your name on the walls
And when one little bump leads to shock miss a beat
You run for cover and there’s heat, why don’t they:
Do what they say, say what they mean
One thing leads to another
You told me something wrong, I know I listen too long
But then one thing leads to another
One thing leads to another
Then it’s easy to believe
Somebody’s been lying to me
But when the wrong word goes in the right ear
I know you’ve been lying to me
It’s getting rough, off the cuff I’ve got to say enough’s enough
Bigger the harder he falls
But when the wrong antidote is like a bone in the throat
You run for cover in the heat why don’t they:
Do what they say, say what they mean
One thing leads to another
You tell me something wrong, I know I listen too long
But then one thing leads to another
One thing leads to another
http://www.io.com/~jlockett/Grist/English/ulysses.html
http://ftp.vub.ac.be/~cgershen/doc/fourLoves.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhEt5IF2JTs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CYI5bKZMes&NR=1
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. but in that casket – safe, dark, motionless, airless – it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.” CS Lewis, The Four Loves
What a desolate place you come from, Billy. That is a very self centred conception of love; I know – I’ve been there.
The quickest way to mend a broken heart is to IMMEDIATELY go out and find someone or something else to love because hearts don’t break from the outside; they rupture because the love inside them can’t get out. Moping and grieving hardens the surface and prevents the love from escaping and they eventually burst.
This is why women are more susceptible to broken hearts than men; they have this fixation that one can only love one person at a time. Men are wiser in this regard and can love more than one woman.
Who says we men cannot do multitasking?
Love is not selfish, nor is it self centered;
but the pursuit of love is most definitely both.
http://www.humanthermodynamics.com/RP2-Love.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-KX3XuUXpc
Welcome back Errin.
_/)_
Here’s my request: Taxi, is used worldwide…
Don’t anybody do this word please.. I’m going to make a video shortly. Thanks pepito! Great one!
Do the video from the “Cash Cab” – syndicated trivia game show. http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/cashcab/cashcab.html (discovery channel – website o.k. and rated G).
Oh I was making a two hour presentation on the word Taxi.
Ok Marina. Thanks for letting us know which words your working on. I would have to made Prospero walk the plank if he answered it.
_/)_
Hey! Captain Jack! I resent that! I can only remember answering one, maybe two word suggestions…..this board is rife with my comments, but generally I leave the etymology to the expert – our trusty, as well as lovely and talented, teacher – Marina.
Hi Marina, you’re way to nice for your own good. I enjoy watching you learn as you teach & react to folks. I posted something when I was teachers pet on Coleman, little boy in a life & death struggle. He seems to be doing well at this time. The family is posting new stuff on him. I thought this could look like a word origin request. You might want to check it (Them) out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azFslh5lCco
I think their Mom is a good teacher too. Check with them if you think you could use a couple of “difficult” words.
I hope Marina gets her taxi video in gear soon. The meter is running….
Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition
Also The Acronym F.U.B.A.R is said to have been influenced in WW2 from the German word furchtbar, meaning terrible.
It is?
If so, it could make “FUBAR” the product of root contamination.
I’m happy for you and all your great success! My kindergarden son asked me what the origin of HAMBURGER was? I made a joke of it but still don’t know the origin. We would love for you to help us find out more about HAMBURGER. We love your accent and your beauty! Stay great!!
Probably the same origin as FRANKFURTER.
I believe the acronym you are looking for is F.U.B.A.R.
learning more and more from you
I would really like to know the origin of the word:Peculiar
Keep up the lessons!
A hop and a skip south of Kansas City, Missouri is the town of Peculiar. I always thought it was a strange name for a town.
FUBAR–is the acronym for “Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition”
I’m just resubmitting my request for the word “Vampire” or also spelled “Vampyre” in some European countries–Also would love to be mentioned as a future “teacher’s pet” since most of my teachers in grade/high school highly appreciated my intelligence and some friends called me one…tyvm Marina for your continued insights on words and the tireless research you go through to help us–I’m also sending kisses to your evil twin sis as well*muah muah muah*
I would like to know the origin of word Beautiful
FUBAR BUNDY :Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition, But Unfortunately Not Dead Yet
Marina stvarno si najljepše stvorenje koje sam ikad vidio
aleksandar, are you Serbian?
My leg shakes like Snafu’s when Marina’s videos start.
I would like to know the origin of “plumb”. As in that wall is plumb. I have guys on the crew who use level for vertical and plumb for horizontal. Dopes!
I may be getting ahead of myself, here, but I believe that “plumb” may come from the french word “plomb”, which means “lead” (the metal). Because if I rely on the french version of “this wall is plumb” (ce mur est d’aplomb) we say “d’aplomb” because the instrument to measure the vertical level of a structure is a “plomb”, which in the old days, was simply consisting of a piece of lead (plomb) at the end of a string, thus the name. I can even go further as to say that it has the same origin as “plumber” (in french “plombier” because of the large use of lead in this trade).
But then again, I could be full of it too, it wouldn’t be a first!
I think you’re right. The modern spelling of plomb (lead) goes back to the 15th Century. The original French word was plum (first used in 1119). It derived from the Latin word plumbum. The word plombier (plumber) is based on the more modern spelling of plomb, In 1266, the word appeared as plunmier (yes, the spelling is correct). In 1508, with plum now written plomb, plunmier became plombier, Everything you said about the instrument that measures verticality is correct. Great work!!!
this word is kinda profane but i would like to know what the word : FUCK means. please!!!!!
I’ve heard that after the plague in order to repopulate England the King would turn a blind eye to the law that prohibited fornication. Fornicate Under Consent of the King. I don’t know how true this story is though.
can you give us the origin of russian VODKA. I think that it would be very interesting for us… thank you))
please do the word Hamburger
Would you like “french fries” with that?
I’m surprised no-one has come back with that riposte before.
that always reminds me of an episode of beavis and butthead.
“would you like some fries to go with that?”
“did I ask for fries … dumbass?”
Curly fries, please.
i want to know where the origin of the word skateboard came from??..kinda obvious but there is probably more to the word than people think?? so please do this??
Hey Martina, can you explain the phrase ‘that’s the way the cookie crumbles’ for me please?
A computer hacker is what I want you to do the origin of.
You referring to black hat or white hat?
What?
andrewbean90, according to the Hacking Lexicon at linuxsecurity.com, white hat hackers are:
So-called “ethical” hackers who work with clients in order to help them secure their systems. White-hats can be:
• members of tiger teams
• system hardening specialists
• researchers looking for vulnerabilities (with the goal of finding them and removing them before the black-hats).
See also black hat.
Marina;
Another Military Term:
FUBAR
“Fouled or Fucked UP Beyond Recognition!”
ooooh rahhh!
warmly,
Nelson
FUBAR is the acronym you are looking for.
Thanks for a wonderful lesson today on SNAFU.
A word I would like to see you check for the derivation and meaning is ‘Gawdelpus’. I know what it means but have no idea where it comes form.
(It sounds like if YOU had one it would be BEAUTIFUL!)
Thanks for the lessons,
Peace,
Frog
TEACH, WHAT IS THE EQUIVALENT WORD IN RUSSIAN FOR FUCK?
trahatsya… (i hope that marina will exuse me)
The traditional word for fuck in Russian is «ёб» (yob). The verb is «ебать» (yebat’).
Is it true that “yup” in russian means sex?
“yup” doesn’t mean sex it means to fuck… and “trahatsya” (трахаться) also means to fuck
How cool
I will never see the word ‘Yup’ as naked as I have see before. Thanks pairadots & russianboy for the lesson.
you are welcome CAPTAIN!
anything else?
Note, though, that «ёб» is pronounced /jɔp/ and not /jʌp/.
Russian also has a verb for “fuck” borrowed directly from English: «факаться» (fakat’sya; /ˈfakətʲsjə/).
Two questions , & I’m only curious does the word “trahatsya” get bleeped on Russian TV or even used & is there a hangup over it’s use. people get weird here although bleeping seems to be the norm. as if nobody could figure it out, I also wonder if gay portrayals are commonplace or frowned on or even entertaining. Just curious. That might be three questions, but I am surprised nobody has posted this, it came in me secerataries email. http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=sIQrBouWRiE
Although no swearing heard, imature audience only (Revenge)
there is no word such “факаться”
Што вы?! Yes, there is. In fact, it’s even in print! Dictionary of Russian Slang by Shlyakhov and Adler, check it out for yourself! I’m surprised you hadn’t heard of it before…
Oops! Sorry about the Serbian spelling «што» instead of Russian «что»…
i am russian, and i know that факаться is not a word “fuck”
So what does a yuppie do???
why is it that most people want to learn the profanities first? I ain’t bitching about it, just wondering.
For some, it’s ’cause they’re told they musn’t…
For me (and most others here, I hope), it’s because they’re not given their linguistic due; that is, they are hardly ever discussed at length.
it has to be FUBAR (Fucked Up Beyond All Repair)
Why did those two guys have to sit out of this homework?
F.U.B.A.R.- A little Chinese dive in El Segundo, CA that serves great egg fu young (all take-out, you order at a counter).
That place has such slow service, I ordered egg fu young there once and by the time it got to my table it was egg fu old.
Yeah, the kitchen can be a little bit of a Snafu, but they sure are well intentioned…
Thanks for the tip. When I move to Marina Del Ray or Long Beach (haven’t decided yet) I’ll avoid the place.
that was just a joke…albeit a bad one…i’ve never been there.
No one has ever been there
just like Mars.
I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said, “I drank what?” Oh you two are horrible.
Now why would I want to go to West side with you two clowns in town? Unless your buying the beer!
TEACH US SOME RUSSIAN!!!
i can teach you some russian)))
like what….
Russian! Of course.
i can say the translation of any word you want
Why do people say “10:4″ when talking over radios to confirm hearing a message?
What is this code for and how does the code work?
Also, why is “roger” used for the same purpose?
Where do “roger” and “10:4″ come from?
Love yah,
Mike
Why are you reposting these questions yeeeaahhbaby?
I am new to this so please i hope i don’t mess this up =-)
I would like to request a word, the word is Alien
as in space invaders heh
thank you and Mmmuwah hugs and kisses to you, awsome lessons
very interesting concept, one question, are youe ver going to let us meet yoir sister, since we hear her almost every day in your lesson?
Good work!
Keep it up
thank’s mate!
are you ever correcting my text
She never does.
Bad teacher bad.
I agree, it´s not fair just letting us hearing her sister voice whitout seeing her, since her sister is as smart as Marina, probably is also as pretty
I have a word request, well not so much a word as a phrase. The phrase that I would like to know the origin of is “like a bat out of hell“. My grandmother uses the phrase a lot to describe someone or something that is out of control. I am curious as to the origin of the phrase. Thank you.
It wasn’t Meatloaf?
huge bats could be devastating.
Bat out of hell: http://www.dailyhaha.com/_pics/Bat_Out_Of_hell.htm
I loved that lesson Marina! But it only scratched the surface of the subject
There are much deeper reasons why things get FUBAR and SNAFU is SOP.
It’s because true communication is only possible between equals and there are none in the military with the different ranks.
The seargents that have to carry out the orders only tell the officers above them what they want to hear out of fear of reprimand and the generals don’t get the true information they need to make effective decisions since the farther up the chain of command you go the more yes men there are telling you what you want to hear out of fear of reprisals.
This is the essence of the SNAFU principle, because it leads to an equal and opposite burden of omniscienceupon those at the top, in the eye of the pyramid.
All that is forbidden to those at the bottom—the conscious activities of
perception and evaluation—is demanded of the Power Elite, the
master class. They must attempt to do the seeing, hearing,
smelling, etc. and all the thinking and evaluating for the whole
pyramid.
But a man with a gun (the power to punish) is told only what
the target thinks will not cause him to pull the trigger (write the
pink slip, order the court-martial). The elite, with their burden of
omniscience, face the underlings, with their burden of nescience,
and receive only the feedback consistent with their own preconceived
notions and reality-tunnels.
The burden of omniscience becomes, over time, another and more complex burden of nescience. Nobody really knows anything anymore, or if they do, they are careful to hide the fact. The burden of nescience becomes omnipresent. More and more of sensory experience becomes unspeakable.
I hope this helps fill in the gaps of your lesson.
Thanks ArgonTheAware! Also.. when you look at the actual phrase “Situation Normal, All F’d Up”.. the “Situation Normal” part is a cut down to the superiors believe.. meaning that NORMALLY things are messed up, right? Meaning that those in charge are not doing a great job? Something like that?
Yes something like that, since that’s what makes it Standard Operating Procedure. The people at the bottom that have to carry out the orders expect it to be Fucked Up as a matter of course so they count on them not making any sense.
That’s one of the reasons that discipline is so important in the military, they follow the orders by reflex without having to worry about whether they make sense or not. As they always told me when I was in the Air Force “We don’t pay you to think”
Without the correct feedback and accurate information, it’s no wonder those in charge can’t do a very good job.
Marina – thank you for the mention regarding the SNAFU video!
Isn’t it interesting how at the beginning of the video the word SNAFU comes up one letter at a time, implying its origin as an anagram. I can just picture the WW2 soldiers ready to ship out, watching this short cartoon before the latest Bogart-Bacall flick, and laughing hysterically because they know full-well what the term means.
Can I also be teacher’s pet? If so, may I request that both you and your evil twin announce my status as teacher’s pet, so I can be the teacher’s pet and also the teacher’s evil twin sister’s pet? Fighting back and forth over me would be fine, too…
Love your videos and they get better all the time.
Eric
ArgonTheAware is correct. We would get orders that made no sense. So we where trained to follow orders almost blindly. An officer could not order us to jump off of a bridge per say but we could question orders that threaten our lives or safety.
You see Marina, That’s why I had a FUBAR ‘IN’ box. I would get these crazy request (orders) and I tried to make sense of them. My ‘OUT’ box was the WTF?
LOL “You don’t get paid to think!” was mention many many times. Oh now the flash backs are coming again.
Hey ArgonTheAware. Thanks for your more descriptive post. You did a much better job than I did. Its interesting how similar the military works in all branches. My uncle was in the Air Force and encouraged me to try the service. Then I learned what what NAVY really meant.
Never
Again
Volunteer
Yourself
/)
It works for more than just the military unfortunately a lot of corporations have the same structure than invites the SNAFU principle also with a rigid top down hierarchy. This lightly adapted version of a fable dating back to the early 1960s illustrates the phenomenon perfectly:
In the beginning was the plan, and then the specification;
And the plan was without form, and the specification was void.
And darkness was on the faces of the implementors thereof; And they spake unto their leader, saying: “It is a crock of shit, and smells as of a sewer.”
And the leader took pity on them, and spoke to the project leader:“It is a crock of excrement, and none may abide the odor thereof.”
And the project leader spake unto his section head, saying:
It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide it.”
The section head then hurried to his department manager, and informed him thus: “It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength.”
The department manager carried these words to his general manager, and spoke unto him saying:“It containeth that which aideth the growth of plants, and it is very strong.”
And so it was that the general manager rejoiced and delivered the good news unto the Vice President. “It promoteth growth, and it is very powerful.”
The Vice President rushed to the President’s side, and joyously exclaimed: “This powerful new software product will promote the growth of the company!”
And the President looked upon the product, and saw that it was very good.
After the subsequent and inevitable disaster, the suits protect themselves by saying “I was misinformed!”, and the implementors are demoted or fired.
You just have defined how the US government feeds us propaganda!
Am I the only one that sees this??
Love the post ATA
Hi ArgonTheAware. Love readin this little bit of a thread of thought that developed. Having not experienced being in the military I feel informed, having grown up in a military nieghboughrhood I understand a little better why alcohol was a perscription of the military at the time. Having my own business for 23yrs I have had the privilege of working with good people. Have had to train some young guys & lose them to others or competition, thats fine, but I would not tolerate someone not thinking for themselves. I’m the boss but I don’t want to be a control freak or feared, just respected & if real lucky admired. Some of the smartest people on the planet crush steel down the road from me. They throw cars & trucks around like toys & dump them in a big hopper that spits out little bite size pieces & nobody’s died there. The sign on their office wall “Do what needs to be done, not what you’re told”
They make big $$$ there too.
Dear Marina, here’s my word request which I hope you will find very interesting.
I was thinking of the origin of ‘holy cow’ or ‘holy crap’ or even ‘holy s**t’ ??
And keep up the great work! You’re awesome ^^
It’s like this,,, it’s SNAFU today so break out your BMFH and make it all FUBAR by tomorrow
That’ll teach;em to complain 
how about this one “swag” it is a little easier but it should be from about the same area and time homework : FUBAR
RED
I still have my T-shirt!!!
FUBAR!!!!!
as a word request I would love to hear you discuss the origin of the word Liberty.
BOHiCA is another one that you might have missed lol it means
BEND OVER HERE IT COMES AGAIN LOL HOPE YOU GET A KICK OUT OF THIS ONE PS; your still hot
FUBAR lol used it alot when i was in the army lol your still hot
How about bohica? If it’s a snafu, it can also be fubar, but if it’s going to happen again, is it bohica (Bend Over Hear It Comes Again)? Well, fido, I guess (Fuck It, Drive On).
A funny one is “DAN” – if a soldier hasn’t showered for a while, he might be said to “smell like DAN” (Dick, Ass and Nuts).
Another one is BCD – Birth Control Device. A soldier wears his BCD’s on across the bridge of his nose, as they refer to his glasses (army glasses not being known for their attractiveness).
Hey Prospero811, I used to wear BCD’s. The glasses had large black rims. Very ugly glasses at the time when people where using thin wire framed glasses in the 80’s. I asked the guys how come no girls would go out with me. They said get rid of those BCD’s and see what happens. Later on I ended up dating a very hot model that made a TV commercial for a brand of car soap in Australia.
You really know you’ve got what it takes when you pull even though you’ve put on BCDs to have a quiet night.
BTW, did you know that the absolute best BCD for women is an Aspirin?
It’s true; take one tablet and hold it tightly between the knees.
You know, I tried to find my old BCDs when the geek look was back in style. Never did I find them. Damn.
FUBAR….that is self explaining
FUBAR…..enough said
I would like to request you the word “suck”.
If you want to meet me, I´m available by now jajaja.
Answer for todays homework: Fucked up beond all recognition…
And I would like to request a word as well: “Tandem”.
Nice vid
What puzzles me, though, is why “Fucked Up” is used to describe something bad…
As for the homework, maybe SOS?
I don’t know, but why is it that every time I write “F” you see “K?”
Actually, my guess is that it derives from the two points-of-view associated with the act. One person is doing the F-ing. The other person is getting “F-ed.” The person doing the F-ing is typically viewed as in the power position, no pun intended, and the one getting F-ed is viewed as serving the needs of the F-er in a subordinate manner. So, there is a negative connotation with getting fucked or being fucked, as opposed to doing the fucking. So, when a situation has been fucked, it has then become fucked, or otherwise known as fucked up. Just a guess…
If you are the F-er and you are F-ing correctly the F-ed should be enjoying being F-ed as much as you are enjoying F-ing,,, But this is merely my personal opinion
And by having a history with the military I understand the meaning of being F-ed up beyond all repair
I FIGMO-D out and now everything is hunky dory
Very true, bad doggie, very true. However, enjoyment is different than other perceptions of the act. The submissive role has always been seen by men as not a good thing. I.e. to be on the “receiving end” is not seen as advantageous, to say the least.
In old Roman times, noblemen would sometimes F male concubines – and it was acceptable to “pitch” but not “catch.” I.e. it’s o.k. to “F” but not “get F-ed” in that sense.
Also, in traditional western society, the perception is that men “take” something when they are with a woman. And women “give” men something when they “give it up.” They also “lose” something when they do it for the first time – they “lose” their virginity. The concept of a male being a “virgin” is a relatively new byproduct of our egalitarian culture.
So, men do the “F-ing” usually – and women “get F-d” and in doing so they either “lose” something that men “take” or “give” something that men “get.” That’s the terminology that has traditionally been uses. So, if you “get F-d” then that implies you’ve lost something or had to give something up – it’s a negative. And if you “F-d” someone (did the “F-ing”) then you got something, stole something, or were given something. That implies something positive.
So, if a situation is “F-d” – it’s mean it’s lost – it’s given up – it’s been taken. There’s a short leap from there to mean that it’s all “screwed up” or “botched.”
This is all just personal speculation.
Well, that is a good explanation – very plausible, and a good speculation.
Hey Marina -
You’ll get a kick out of this youtube video combining the word “snafu” with a previous word you’ve done, “booby trap.” It’s one of a series of WW2 cartoons that were shown as instructional videos to soldiers, staring Private Snafu (who sounds suspiciously like Bugs Bunny).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DZ7dZKo8YM
Nice find
Leave him alone I thinks, nuf’ said
What’s up with the latest poll? Can’t figure out the reason Marina wants our opinion. Not like her to not say what’s on her mind
NFG gets written in chalk on all FUBAR parts & tyres at the shop.
Have a reasoable day!
Yeah – I like how in the beginning the word SNAFU comes up one letter at a time with a slight hesitation as the letters come up… you KNOW that the writers knew what snafu meant and the intended audience knew what snafu meant – but the average person wouldn’t know at the time.
Nice work prospero811
I wonder what word encore means?:)
I’m not exactly sure but Steve Wynn has it in huge letters on the side of his brand new casino over on the Las Vegas Strip
Ah! Well I can help you there! “Encore” is a french word that simply means: Again.
FUBAR Fucked Up Beyond All Repair
TARFU Things Are Really Fucked Up
Thanks tayljim, I never hear TARFU before!
Word request: sideburns.
They are on the sides of a person’s head, but do they burn?
Since you are already in it, what about the word “fuck”? I know it’s a bit of a dirty word, but I would like to know: I’ve been told it was an acronym for Fornication Under Conscent of the King… I find it a little far fetched, myself… Is it true? Thank you!
And BTW, I know you’re getting this compliment a billion times a day, but still, here it is again: you look lovely. A feast for the eyes, I say! Have a nice day!
Its only a dirty word in the English language. Do you know of dirty words in other languages that mean nothing to English language. I’ll get your started with my sisters favorite word to say “Bugger”.
in credibly blue
as captainjack said, same old shit is not the meaning of SOS
Save Our Ship is the real one, it comes from the morse code used in the Titanic telegraph when it wrecked.
As Miss Marina is teaching us we have to dig a bit deeper into our research to see if we have uncovered the correct origin of a word. Don’t take the first answer you get as the correct definition.
SOS was used long before it ever made its appearance on a ship.
SOS had a hard time being accepted was officially ratified in 1908. There was this other code that was used before SOS that meant the same thing.
Keep digging
Fubar
Marina, you even make the word military sound sexy
fubar.
2 theories:
1) Fucked Up Beyon All Recognition/Repair.
OR
2) As it originates in WW2, some people say it’s derived from the german “furchtbar” meaning “awful”.
or a little bit of both.
Congrats Kiddx!!
Well I was going to bow out of this assignment because I posted the meaning of the two words but can’t seem to find it on this site anymore. But since a few of you have already answered it, FUBAR is correct.
Fucked
Up
Beyond
All
Recognition
When I served in the Navy I had an ‘IN’ box called my FUBAR box. Above my desk was a mini poster with the words
Successfully decoding the message might also give you a clue of what my job was in the Navy.
US Navy status is: SNAFU
Interestingly enough is most of the officer did not know what it meant. I told them it was just the name of my IN box.
My ‘OUT’ box was called: ‘77 68 61 74 20 74 68 65 20 66 75 63 6b ?’
The question mark was not encoded to make people question what the numbers mean. Lets see if some smart student can decode my OUT box.
Marnia, I did notice years back when people started to make words politically correct (or the P.C. phase in the US back in mid 90’s ) they substituted ‘Fouled’ for ‘Fucked’ in the SNAFU. Policeman became Police-person, Weatherman became Weatherperson, etc. Thats the day when I thought pussification took hold of society.
/)
I’m going to put a Hex on you!
Lol Bob.
What Bob discovered was my Hexa-decimal message.
Hexa Decimal system was a way to make computer binary language easier for programmers to read.
See the wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexidecimal
73 61 69 6c 62 6f 61 74 ___/)___
01011001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01110111 01100101 01110010 01100101 00100000 01100001 00100000 01100011 01110010 01111001 01110000 01110100 01101111 01100111 01110010 01100001 01110000 01101000 01100101 01110010 00101110
Decoded binary message, “You were a cryptographer.”
Nope. Sorry Bob Your reading too much into it.
That may not have been your job but you were an amateur cryptographer.
For those who are interested, there’s a handy encode / decode tool at this site.
Ok, I was a computer programmer and installer for ships supply division.
Xerox 860s and SNAP II systems. I enlisted as a deckhand and striked into the supply department.
Thanks for the encode decode tool. It beats starting up my terminal shell.
yeah, it’s kinda hard to find older posts on the site. most of the time google helps. try googling (?) “site:hotforwords.com fubar”. always use “site:hotforwords.com” to get only results from … well … hotforwords.com.
Awe! Thanks for the tip aLx. I forgot about using that google trick.
Marina did you know you can place google searching on your website?
77 68 61 74 20 74 68 65 20 66 75 63 6b
w h a t t h e f u c k
Simple ASCII Hex.
In the Navy, you were either in Communications or Intelligence.
That’s my guess.
Since this was a common question and I didn’t want to put the F word on my file box (didn’t want it piss off top brass) I thought I would interesting to put the Hexa Decimal on it.
I did work on some communications for the welfare of sailors. It was called MARS (Military Affiliated Radio Station). We used ham radio to patch phone calls to shore stations so sailors could call home. I volunteered for the duty on my off hours.
Intelligence? No I’m not that intelligent. Sorry I couldn’t resist.
I can not confirm nor deny that I worked in the Intelligence department.
Sometimes the best way to hide something is to put it right under their noses. Making so oblivious that people over look it and miss it completely.
Anymore guesses?