Editor's Corner

Several months ago, I received an email from my buddy Jane about a term I hadn’t heard: struggle bus. Here is a brief definition that I cobbled together:

When someone is "on the struggle bus," they are metaphorically riding a vehicle filled with struggles they cannot easily escape, in a situation or state of mind that is frustrating, difficult, or unfulfilling.

Jane mentioned a few more idioms for “having a hard time:”

<![if !supportLists]>· <![endif]>Train wreck: A situation that is a total and spectacular disaster.

<![if !supportLists]>· <![endif]>Car crash: An extremely messy, chaotic, or disastrous situation.

<![if !supportLists]>· <![endif]>Hot mess: A disorganized, chaotic, and often spectacular failure.

She asked for even more words and idioms for having a hard time or describing disastrous situations. Well, I am happy to say that the Merriam-Webster thesaurushas just what you ordered, Jane! I edited it a bit, but the whole list is here if you want it.

apocalypse

We begin our list with a disaster of Biblical proportions. The wordapocalypseoriginally comes from the Greek apokálypsis, meaning “revelation.” Today, the word apocalypse is often used generally (and ominously) to refer to a doomsday-level scenario.

bloodbath

The word bloodbath is often used to describe violent slaughters or massacres. The word creates the mental image of a carnage so intense that someone could take a bath in the spilled blood. Figuratively, though, bloodbath is used to describe disastrous events or severe instances of bad fortune.

cataclysm

Cataclysm is a word so disastrous that it rocks the entire Earth to its core. The word cataclysm means “a violent upheaval” and is used in geography to refer to violent events that manage to alter the surface of Earth.

fiasco

The word fiasco means “a complete and ignominious failure.”

calamity

Get the tissues ready, because our next word is calamity. Calamity is a synonym of disaster, but it indicates that a horrific event specifically caused misery and lots of tears—so, like a dentist appointment?

catastrophe

Catastrophe is a synonym that can highlight the destruction and loss brought about by a tremendous event.

pandemonium

Things have gone to hell in a hand basket thanks to our next word: pandemonium. Pandemonium refers to a wild state of disorder, noise, and chaos. This disastrous word actually comes from Pandaemonium, the name that John Milton used for the capital of hell in Paradise Lost.

debacle

The word debacle is one of several that implies a failure was caused by failure or incompetence, especially ones that result from disorganization.

blunder

The word blunder is a synonym of the word mistake and is often used to describe an error resulting from severe incompetence or stupidity.

epic fail

LOL! The slang term epic fail is used to describe particularly humiliating mistakes. Our disastrous list of words has been bad so far, but epic fail might just be the worst of the bunch. Why? Because this is the phrase to use when that embarrassing mistake has been broadcast on social media! (And once that happens, only an especially clever cat meme can save you.)

meltdown

With our next word, our disaster has gone nuclear. Meltdown is a word used to refer to severe nuclear reactor accidents. It’s figuratively used to describe sudden situations that quickly spiral out of control.

dog’s breakfast

This list has really gone to the dogs. The slang term dog’s breakfast, mainly used in Canada and the UK, describes a confused, disorderly mess.

turmoil

Turmoil is another word to convey that you’re in the midst of great confusion or disorder. Fittingly, we are not actually sure where this verb-turned-noun originates from.

dumpster fire

The slang term dumpster fire means something is so disastrously bad it is beyond all hope of saving. Often, the dumpster fire is result of terribly bad decisions or extraordinary levels of incompetence.

SNAFU and FUBAR

It might be time for reinforcements. SNAFU and FUBAR are two abbreviations that can be traced back to military jargon and have some…colorful meanings. SNAFU stands for “situation normal: all f–ed up” and FUBAR stands for “f–ed up beyond all reason.”

Next time, the other half of my response to Jane: words and idioms for things going well! Until then, some cute capybaras to cheer you up!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Knowledge Enablement

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/