Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.
debacle (n.)
means “a great defeat, a disaster, a breakup or collapse,” as in Their last loss was such a debacle that it cost the coach his job. The main problem with this word borrowed from French is how to say it: di-BAHK-uhl is perhaps most common, but various combinations of dee-, di-, and duh- for the first syllable, with BAHK or BAK for the second, plus a reasonable approximation of the original syllabic French l, such as dai-BAHK-l, are all appropriate.
