Make a mess
To cock up is to bungle or botch something—a British slang term for making a mess of things: I really cocked up that presentation.
As a noun, a cock-up is the resulting blunder: The whole project was a cock-up from the start.
The expression is mildly vulgar but common in casual British speech.
IDEA.org / Words / cock up
Make a mess
To cock up is to bungle or botch something—a British slang term for making a mess of things: I really cocked up that presentation.
As a noun, a cock-up is the resulting blunder: The whole project was a cock-up from the start.
The expression is mildly vulgar but common in casual British speech.
1. blunder — gaffe, Clumsy social error; fiasco (Humiliating public failure); bungle (Fail through clumsiness); snafu (Confused, botched situation); flub · goof · slipup · howler · clanger · blooper · miscue · faux pas · misstep · oversight
2. ruin — wreck, Destroyed vessel or vehicle; spoil (Damage or overindulge); botch (Spoil through incompetence); mishandle (Manage incompetently or roughly); mismanage · sabotage · bungling · shambles · omnishambles · disaster · debacle · derail · scupper · torpedo
outcome qualitycock up ≠ success Favorable outcome attained; triumph · achievement · win · accomplishment · victory
execution competencecock up ≠ nail it Succeed perfectly at something; ace it · pull off · get right · master · bring off
British slang: blag, bloke, bodge, blagger, bobby
cock, up, cocks, cocked, cocking
Word data: Linguabase (CC0) · www.idea.org/words/cock_up