screwed the pooch
Made critical error
Screwed the pooch means to make a serious mistake or blunder badly: The IT department really screwed the pooch when they deleted the backup files.
The phrase originated in mid-20th-century American military and aerospace slang, suggesting a failure so egregious it's almost obscene.
Despite the crude imagery, it's now common in casual speech and even professional settings.
- messed upDisordered or badly handled
- repercussionsIndirect results of actions
- dropped the ballFailed at crucial moment
- blunderFoolish, costly mistake
- messDisorderly, troublesome condition
flubbed · faux pas · fallout · shame · fiasco · debacle · cock-up · bungled · error · snafu · mucked up · fumbled · goofed · misstep · blew it · crash and burn · guilt · embarrassment
screwed the poochnailed it
Succeeded completely, emphatically
hit a home run · aced it · crushed it · killed it · stuck the landing
screwed the poochrose to the occasion
stuck the landing · got it right · threaded the needle · dotted the i's and crossed the t's
screw, screwed, screws, screwing, screwdriver, pooch, pooches