bollocks up

Make a mess

To bollocks up something is to bungle or ruin it through incompetence—British slang equivalent to "screw up" or "fuck up": He completely bollocksed up the presentation.

The phrase derives from bollocks (testicles), following the pattern of other vulgar verbs for making a mess of things.

bungle

botch

Spoil through incompetence

fumbleHandle with clumsy fingers
flubClumsy error
mishandleManage incompetently or roughly

mismanage · screw up · muck up · cock up · foul up · mess up · bungle · blunder · goof · mangle

failure

fiasco

Humiliating public failure

debacleSudden, complete failure
disasterSudden ruinous event
flopComplete commercial failure

bust · washout · shambles · train wreck · catastrophe · collapse · meltdown · snafu · cock-up · balls-up

error

mistake

Wrong action or decision

blunderFoolish, costly mistake
gaffeClumsy social error
slipMinor error or misstep

oversight · misstep · miscalculation · misjudgment · slip-up · howler · blooper · clanger · boo-boo · goof

Opposites

execution quality

bollocks upnail

Metal fastener or keratin plate

ace · nail it · perfect · get right · pull off

care and precision

bollocks uphandle with care

Instruction for delicate items

finesse · orchestrate · fine-tune · polish

care/attention

bollocks uphandle with care

Instruction for delicate items

sort out · tidy up · fix · put right · straighten out

Family

bollocks, bollocked, bollocking

Familiarity: Top 500,000
Profile: Timeless · Abstract · Negative · Everyday, not technical · Rated PG-13