# fiasco

> English word · Noun · IPA /fiˈæs.kəʊ/ · frequency rank #19,596

## Definitions
1. A sudden or unexpected failure.
2. A ludicrous or humiliating situation. Some effort that went quite wrong.
3. A wine bottle in a (usually straw) jacket.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Italian fiasco (“bottle, flask”), from Late Latin flasca, flascō (“bottle, container”), from Frankish *flaskā (“bottle, flask”) from Proto-Germanic *flaskǭ (“bottle”); see flask.
“Failure” sense comes through French faire fiasco from Italian theatrical slang far fiasco (literally “to make a bottle”), of uncertain origin; perhaps from an expression fare il fiasco, meaning to play a game with the forfeit that the loser will buy the next bottle or round of drinks.
Doublet of flacon, flagon, and flask.

## Easily confused with
- **fico** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiasco-vs-fico)
- **fresco** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiasco-vs-fresco)
- **Frisco** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiasco-vs-frisco)
- **Faso** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/faso-vs-fiasco)
- **Falco** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/falco-vs-fiasco)
- **fiancé** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiance-vs-fiasco)

## Common misspellings (8)
`faisco`, `ffiasco`, `fiacso`, `fiascco`, `fiasoc`, `fiassco`, `fisaco`, `ifasco`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/fiasco