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Dropping an ice cream cone on the sidewalk. Slipping on a banana peel. Attempting to throw a water balloon at your friend but slipping and smashing it in your face instead. There’s only one expression that adequately describes these situations: epic fail.

叠耻迟,听epic fail isn’t the only term for these ridiculously crummy situations. The English language has all kinds of colorful sayings for when things go to s**t.

And yeah, there’s some strong language ahead. What can we say? Epic fails make us want to scream @#$%!

epic fail

To start things off, we should break down what an epic fail听is a little bit further. When someone spectacularly messes up at something鈥攅specially little or simple things done or shared in public, like misspelling one’s own name on an official form or getting rejected for a kiss on the Jumbotron鈥攑eople might joke about it as an听epic fail.听The term epic fail听may be due to an听epic fail听of translation. A 1998 Japanese video game,听Blazing Star, used the humorously clumsy “You fail it!” as a Game Over message.听You fail it听was shortened to听fail听in internet slang, especially among gamers on websites like SomethingAwful and 4chan, and came to signal any failure, big or small.

Which led to听epic fail. This phrase is听reserved for a particularly cringeworthy, bewildering, or hilarious mistake or accident鈥攐ften when someone or something screws up at a most basic level of functioning.听Tripping over one鈥檚 feet while walking is a听蹿补颈濒, but tripping over one鈥檚 feet while using a walker is an听epic fail.听

goat rodeo

If epic fail is too pedestrian for you, maybe goat rodeo will do the trick.

础听goat rodeo听is a slang term for “something going totally, unbelievably, disastrously wrong, and there鈥檚 nothing left to do but to sit back and watch the train wreck.” In other words, a听goat rodeo听is a chaotic situation or听fiasco. And yes, there are also literal goat rodeos.听馃悙

The work of a rodeo can be chaotic, which helped give rise to the expression. 叠耻迟,听goat rodeos aren’t all bad. Sometimes it’s used to refer to something 鈥渨ild and crazy鈥� in a good way, like a 21st birthday bonanza or bachelor party. If it was a听goat rodeo, you know it was pretty听lit.

shitshow

Strong language warning:

When something is worse than an epic fail or a goat rodeo, it might be better called a shitshow.

The earliest recorded evidence of听蝉丑颈迟蝉丑辞飞听dates from the 1970s. At the time, it had the connotation of something that is a mockery, a chaotic event, or a horrible situation. Over time, the mockery sense receded, making space for a听shitshow听as “a spectacle,” which gained prominence and nuance over the years.

础听蝉丑颈迟蝉丑辞飞听is not just something that goes disastrously wrong; it can also be something that goes wrong in an entertaining way. The importance of this distinction is tone and context. There are people who genuinely lament the existence of a听shitshow, and others who are amused and excited by one. A person can also be described as a听shitshow. This can refer to a one-off instance of a person blundering or being an all-around听hot mess. Speaking of hot messes …

hot mess

Another word for someone who is a shitshow? Hot mess. A hot mess听is “a particularly disorganized person or chaotic situation.” In some uses, a person described as a听hot mess听is attractive but just barely keeping it together.

The phrase听hot mess听didn鈥檛 always describe a person or a situation. The original use was actually听culinary. In the early 1800s, a听hot mess听was nothing more than a warm meal, especially a gloopy one. (Think听mess听as in听mess hall, or cafeteria.) An elementary school Sloppy Joe, for example, is definitely a听hot mess.

These days, though, anything听that鈥檚 especially disorganized or disastrous can be described as a听hot mess.

fugazi

Strong language warning: Fugazi is a Vietnam-era expression that describes a situation that is seriously messed up.

Some have suggested that听fugazi听is an acronym听standing for Fucked Up, Got Ambushed, Zipped In (to a body bag)鈥攕imilar to听SNAFU听(Situation Normal, All Fucked Up) or FUBAR听(Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition). Others have connected the word to the听flame fougasse,听a type of improvised explosive used during the Vietnam War.Fugazi听in the sense of fucked up听is most typically seen in reference to the Vietnam war.

Charlie Foxtrot

Strong language warning:

Another, more popular military term听for an听epic fail that came out of ‘Nam is Charlie Foxtrot. Charlie Foxtrot听is military slang for a chaotic situation鈥攖hat is,听a听clusterfuck.

In the NATO phonetic alphabet,听Charlie听is used for the letter C and听Foxtrot,听the letter F. Together, they abbreviate the compound swear听clusterfuck听as听Charlie听Foxtrot.听Charlie Foxtrot听begins as听a听euphemism听in 1960s US military slang for a poorly managed operation during the Vietnam War.Charlie Foxtrot听sees everyday use by military personnel, veterans, and their social groups. Thanks to social media,听Charlie Foxtrot听further spread in mainstream discussions of all things that are a mess. Try听Charlie Foxtrot听if you want to describe chaos with a military flair without being too vulgar.

Bad Luck Brian

Not all epic fails are totally catastrophic. Sometimes they’re just bad luck. But, if they’re really bad, Bad Luck Brian is the meme to illustrate it.Bad Luck Brian听is a听meme听featuring a teenage boy in a sweater vest showing off a goofy grin with braces. The text on the image describes various unfortunate, unlucky, embarrassing, and hilarious circumstances.

The Distraction Network

Like other memes,听Bad Luck Brian听tells an ironic story in a handful of words. Many of these stories focus on occurrences that the creators imagine could happen to a character like听Bad Luck Brian听if he were real. Some of these contain a kernel of truth that may have actually happened to whoever created a given听iteration听of the meme.

Whatever the case,听Bad Luck Brian听is used to describe embarrassing or unfortunate situations, often involving sexuality, bodily fluids, and negative social interactions.