abbr.
All options stink; a situation in which there is no optimum or ideal course of action.
Example Citation:
"A new acronym has crept into the jargon-cluttered world of Washington. AOS. All Options Stink. It's a fair summary of the dilemmas facing George W Bush."
—Kate Ironside, "Why Bush has limited options for retaliation," Western Morning News, October 3, 2001
—Kate Ironside, "Why Bush has limited options for retaliation," Western Morning News, October 3, 2001
Earliest Citation:
"The question of how to battle terrorists in their remote and rocky Afghan havens has perplexed military planners in both the Clinton and Bush administrations, some of whom share a darkly comic answer when asked about the war plan.
'It's called AOS,' they say, using a barracks abbreviation for 'all options stink.'"
—"U.S. forces amassing, awaiting strike orders," New York Times News Service, September 30, 2001
Notes:
As the earliest citation shows, today's word is a brand new addition to the civilian lexicon, but it appears to have had prior use in military circles.
Related Words:
asymmetric warfare
bioterrorist
exfiltration
fourth-generation warfare
franchise terrorism
Talibanisation
VUCA
warfighter
bioterrorist
exfiltration
fourth-generation warfare
franchise terrorism
Talibanisation
VUCA
warfighter
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