And James Bond used to fight SPECTRE
SPecial Executive for Counter-espionage Terrorism Revenge and Extortion
OtakuLoki used squids to mean “sailors”. SNAFU (Situation Normal All Fucked* Up) has a tradition of use by all branches of the military, and is likely to have been coined by a service member around the start of the Second World War.
- or “fouled”, according to “family-friendly” reference works
There are two conflicting versions of SNAFU. The one most people are familiar with is “Situation Normal: All Fucked Up,” but the way I’d heard it the phrase originated in the US Navy, as “Situation Navy: All Fucked Up.” Alas, Wikipedia doesn’t support that interpretation, and instead claims it’s an Army phrase. Either way, we’re talking about a population that is known for using colorful language in any circumstance.
On preview- beaten to the punch by Sternvogel!
OIC
Never heard sailors called squids before. But I did know the origin of SNAFU (and FUBAR)
In the James Bond RPG, for legal reasons, it was Technological Accession, Revenge, and Organized Terrorism.
My favourite was the pressure group, Aroused Citizens Representing Oppressed New York Minorities.
There was also a mediaeval re-enactment group I ran into once, the South Coast Unaffiliated Mercenaries Battle Action Group.
My current project is being held up my NERF conflicts.
Non-Exclusive, Royalty-Free rights.
The previous mayor of Long Beach, California, got into a political kefluffle by coining a new one - CAVE people, “Citizens Against Virtually Everything.” (No, the kefluffle was not why she left; after a long stint, she just eventually decided to retire.)
I have to say as a former Navy denizen, N for Normal sounds more likely than Navy.
Warner Brothers had a series of instructional cartoons, Private Snafu (not Seaman Snafu) and it explains “Snafu” as Situation Normal, All . . . All Fouled Up. According to Wiki, he did have a sailor brother, Seaman Tarfu (Things Are Really Fucked Up), but the war ended before that series got off the ground. WB did have a series with a Mr. Hook, all of three of them, with a fourth by Walter Lantz.
You’re right and the bl**dy BBC are wrong!
The acronym TARDIS stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space.
http://www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~abr/drwho/tardis/type40/node3.html
NAVY: Never Again Volunteer Yourself (courtesy of SO)
and
NIMITZ: Never Imagined Myself In This Zoo (courtesy of PBS’s Carriers…which cracked me up!)
NASCAR: National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing
Never mind the fact that they haven’t used stock cars in about 30 years.