n. A situation in which there is no optimum or ideal course of action.
2001
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.
2001 (earliest)
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.'
'It's called AOS,' they say, using a barracks abbreviation for 'all options stink.'
As the earliest citation shows, this word is a brand new addition to the civilian lexicon, but it appears to have had prior use in military circles.