The trendy term “dumpster fire,” meaning “a chaotically horrible situation,” may have originated with sportswriters. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Dumpster Fire”
If there’s one buzz phrase I’m ready to see go the way of all other old buzz phrases, it’s dumpster fire.
Oh, like tire fire.
Dumpster fire meaning a very, very bad situation.
Right, where nothing seems to have a resolution and everybody’s bickering and it’s the worst it could possibly be.
Yeah, yeah. I think it’s been around for fewer than 10 years.
Yeah, I think so.
And I think it started in the sports writing world.
Oh, did it?
Yeah, or that’s where it was popularized.
But all of a sudden, I’m just seeing it everywhere.
There was a headline in the Weekly Standard, our national dumpster fire.
And Hillary Clinton’s campaign actually tweeted something describing one of the Republican debates as a dumpster fire.
I’m so tired of dumpster fire.
What is it about a word’s constant use that makes it repulsive?
To me, dumpster fire is just such an icky image, for one thing.
What, just burning trash is just gross?
Yeah, yeah.
And it just seems like this linguistic conga line that everybody’s joining, our bandwagon.
Without much thought or care.
Yeah, yeah.
And if you haven’t heard dumpster fire, you’re going to hear it tomorrow.
I guarantee it.
Or just now.
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