Is it ok to use the word snafu?

I'm surprised how much I've seen it in regards to the ticket problem at the Super Bowl. Everyone knows what the word means, right? And if so, how can that be appropriate? I was always told not to use that word anywhere.

 

I have always removed snafu whenever I've seen it in copy.

 

I always replace it with ROFLMFAO and STFU.

 

During a copy editing internship it was on a list of words to never allow in copy. Although, to be fair, I think 90 percent of them could get in without anyone blinking these days.

I don't think the real meaning of snafu is anywhere close to being common knowledge.

 

We have used it stories and headlines. It is part of the lexicon and indicates a malfunction or things are screwed up.
The caveat: Everytime we use it ... we get at least one phone call from a old person, typically a old woman or a former (older) military man complaining about the use.

 

Both of my parents were in the military, so I knew most of those acronyms by the time I was 11.

 

FUBAR is probably a better acronym to use for the Super Bowl ticket fiasco. SNAFU implies that it is a repeated procedure that never goes as planned.

 

I don't think it's a big deal. What it once was, it no longer is to the general population.

The Philadelphia Daily News used "WTF" in a headline a few days ago. (Yeah, I know.)

 

My shops, past and present, wouldn't allow snafu, despite the G-rated alternative "fouled" we would insist was the meaning.

But as far as WTF goes, I would not allow it past me. In headlines or copy. No gray area at all. And if the story is about texting shorthand, I'd find some other examples.

 

I've seen WTF in places where it would surprise you a lot more than the Philly Daily News. I remember someone saying it stood for something different than what we all know it to mean.

 

I think snafu is fine.

I struggle with the word "champing," because most people think you've made a mistake. But technically, it's not "chomping at the bit."

I wouldn't, however, use snatch in a girls basketball story, or the term "stop the bleeding," as in:

"Lizzy Smith tried to snatch the ball away to stop the bleeding..."

"spanked" is fine, though.

 

I think snafu can be used. It's has outgrown being an acronym.

Personally, I would only use it in a quote, though.