short form of "Fucked up beyond all recognition", but also a misunderstandment of the german word "furchtbar", which means horrible or frightening.
by Nils May 31, 2004
by Sapper Daddy July 02, 2007
Fucked Up beyond All Recognition. Generally used in the context of a situation/operation/mission that is messed up so bad it is beyond salvaging. FUBAR comes after ATFU. Also generally used when describing something that is akin to a Monkey Shit Fight.
When I started working for this company, I just figured their M.O. was SNAFU, however, after a few months, I realized they were just ATFU, now given their current state, they are FUBAR.
by JSP123 October 12, 2008