Word Spy - AOS

AOS abbreviation. 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

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.