fubar

What does fubar mean?

Fubar describes a situation or thing that is disordered, damaged, or ruined beyond any hope of repair or recovery. The word is an acronym, based on the expression ”fucked up beyond all recognition" (or "fouled up beyond all recognition”) and is used to convey a sense of utter chaos. Fubar can be either an adjective or a verb, and can be spelled in lowercase or entirely capitalized (FUBAR).

Examples of fubar

Likewise, if users get completely fubar while filling in the multitudes of fields in all the different pages of your dialog, they may choose the ejector seat and press the Cancel button.
—Dave Edson, Microsoft Systems Journal, October 1994

This is what happens when we hang on to expectations in the face of crisis, and it can turn a snafu into an utterly fubar situation.
—O: the Oprah Magazine, Apr. 2007

I understand the symbolism here, which suggests that if even McDonald's can't make a buck in Iceland, then Iceland's economy is totally fubared.
—Andrew Leonard, Salon.com, 27 Oct. 2009

Where does fubar come from?

Fubar originated as U.S. Army slang during World War II, with its first recorded use in Yank, the Army weekly magazine, in 1944. It is similar in construction to snafu (“situation normal all fucked up (fouled up)”), another acronym that came from the U.S. military in the 1940s.

How is fubar used?

Fubar is used to describe situations that have deteriorated beyond any reasonable expectation of success, often with dark humor. While the word originated in the military, and initially was mainly used to refer to aspects of military life, it now has considerable use in the general population, and may be used to refer to non-military matters.