screws the pooch
Ruins everything spectacularly
Screws the pooch means to make a serious mistake or blunder badly: The contractor really screwed the pooch on that estimate.
The phrase originated in mid-twentieth-century military and aerospace slang, where fucking the dog meant loafing or wasting time—screwing the pooch shifted the meaning toward catastrophic error.
Despite the crude imagery, it's mild enough for workplace use.
- blows itFails when succeeding seemed certain
- drops the ballFails a key responsibility
- botchesFails through carelessness
- carelessnessInattention causing mistakes
- bunglesMishandles through clumsiness
regret · error · embarrassment · blunder · messes up · goofs · flubs · lays an egg · faceplant · face palm moment · negligence · misstep · misjudgment · frustration · epic fail · total disaster · bites the dust · slip-up
screws the poochnails it
Performs something flawlessly
sticks the landing · delivers · triumphs · succeeds · comes through