The noun farrago refers to a confused mixture, jumble, or hodgepodge.
The noun fiasco refers to a complete failure.
Examples:
- The composer's last opera was described as "a farrago of chaotic, nonsensical sounds."
- Verdi was at the height of his powers when he wrote La Traviata in 1853, though the first performance was a fiasco.
Practice:
(a) One reviewer called my book "a vague _____ of opaque terms whose meaning (if any) is impossible to decipher."
(b) Prohibition can only be described as a _____: it did little to abolish problems associated with alcohol use, and it introduced other social problems.
