shit show

noun

variants or less commonly shitshow

ˈshit-ˌshō 

or shit-show

plural shit shows also shitshows or shit-shows

informal + vulgar

: something (such as an event or a situation) that is chaotic, contentious, or unpleasant to an excessive or absurd degree

And while shouting yourself hoarse might not change what the Chicago organizers call "the shit show that is American politics," it could be pretty cathartic.

—Drew Schwartz

"… one day, you wake up and have hundreds of people working for you and it's kind of working and it's really hard to imagine how something like that couldn't be a complete shit show."

—Andrew Mason

"Your relationship wasn't going to be a magical fantasy," he says. "It was going to be a shitshow."

—Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya

… Public Enemy's … return … is one of few bright spots in a shit-show of a year.

—Jacinta Howard

I'm a therapist who helps people learn to be resilient in the face of life's uncertainties. But even I catch myself feeling anxious about how to stay motivated when I'm feeling down—especially in the shit-show that is dating in New York.

—Megan Bruneau

Word History

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined above