screwing the pooch
Royally messing up
Screwing the pooch means making a serious mistake or blunder, especially one with significant consequences: The launch was a disaster—someone really screwed the pooch on the calculations.
The phrase originated in military and aerospace slang, where errors can be catastrophic.
Despite its crude imagery, it's used in professional contexts to describe major foul-ups without specifying blame too precisely.
- blowing itFailing when success seemed certain
- dropping the ballFailing at a crucial moment
- flubbingMaking careless errors
- mistakeWrong action or decision
- embarrassmentSelf-conscious unease
bungling · failure · faux pas · messing up · oversight · blunder · epic fail · total disaster · falling flat · fouling up · snafu · regret · setback · slipping up · slip-up · lapse · error · fault
screwing the poochnailing it
Achieving flawless execution
crushing it · killing it · sticking the landing · coming through · rising to the occasion
screw, screwing, screwed, screws, screwdriver, pooch, pooches