bugger up

Make a mess

To bugger up is to ruin or botch something through incompetence or carelessness: He really buggered up the presentation.

Chiefly British, mildly vulgar.

The phrase suggests making a mess of things rather than minor errors—a buggered-up plan is thoroughly spoiled, not just flawed.

bungle

botch

Spoil through incompetence

  • fumbleHandle with clumsy fingers
  • flubClumsy error
  • goofMinor foolish error

screw up · mess up · muck up · foul up · cock up · balls up · louse up · mishandle · mismanage · blunder

damage

wreck

Destroyed vessel or vehicle

  • ruinComplete destruction or collapse
  • spoilDamage or overindulge
  • sabotageDeliberate disruption of operations

destroy · impair · compromise · undermine · mar · corrupt · degrade · break · trash · total

mishap

snafu

Confused, botched situation

failure · setback · glitch · malfunction · hiccup · cock-up · balls-up · shambles · muddle · stuff-up

Opposites
outcome quality

bugger upfix

Repair or solution

mend · repair · correct · rectify · put right

order versus disorder

bugger upstraighten out

Correct or organize properly

tidy up · sort · organize · set right · restore

outcome/result

bugger upfix

Repair or solution

mend · repair · restore · rectify · put right

Family

bugger, bug, buggered, buggering, buggers, bugs, bugging, bugged

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