screw the pooch
Botch it completely
Screw the pooch means to make a serious mistake or blunder badly: Someone really screwed the pooch on this project.
The phrase originated in mid-20th-century American military and aerospace slang, likely as a euphemistic variation of cruder expressions.
It implies a failure significant enough to cause real problems, not just a minor slip.
- goof upMake a foolish mistake
- errMake a mistake
- failBe unsuccessful
- lay an eggFail utterly, especially performing
- drop the ballFail at a critical moment
crash and burn · go pear-shaped · botch · foul up · mishandle · snafu · slip-up · blunder · bungle · mistake · gaffe · flub · epic fail · fuck up · make a hash of · mess up · blow it · disaster
screw the poochnail it
Succeed perfectly at something
knock it out of the park · hit a home run · ace it · crush it · pull it off
screw the poochfire on all cylinders
Perform at peak effectiveness
rise to the occasion · stick the landing · thread the needle · prove oneself · show one's stuff
screw, pooch, screws, screwed, screwing, screwdriver, pooches