mucks up
Makes a mess
To muck up is to bungle or spoil something through carelessness or incompetence: He mucks up every project he touches.
The phrase suggests making a mess of things, with muck evoking dirt and disorder.
Mucks up is the third-person singular present tense.
British English favors this expression; Americans more often say "screw up" or "mess up."
- messed upDisordered or badly handled
- fouls upCauses something to fail
- botchesFails through carelessness
- flubsBotches through carelessness
- balls upSpoils through incompetence
cock up · disarrays · blunders · drops the ball · missteps · muddles · oversights · disruptions · throws off · slip-ups · sloppiness · havoc · confusions · bungles · errors · tangles · goes wrong · miscalculations