cock up
To ruin unintentionallyTo ruin (something) unintentionally; to fuck up, mess up, or screw up.
» What a cock-up!
Was für ein Schildbürgerstreich!
Meaning
1 senses(Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, mildly, slang, vulgar)To ruin (something) unintentionally; to fuck up, mess up, or screw up.
verbocken, versauen, versemmeln
- to stick up
Examples
1 sentencesWhat a cock-up!
deWas für ein Schildbürgerstreich! — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Translations
2 languagesBy meaning 1
Origin
The first citation in the Oxford English Dictionary is from the Dictionary of Forces' SlanThe first citation in the Oxford English Dictionary is from the Dictionary of Forces' Slang (1948). The OED suggests that it derives ultimately from the noun cock, but gives no further detail. The nature of the earliest citation suggests that this expression entered the wider language from military slang, making etymologies from typesetting or archery (see alternate meanings of cock-up) unlikely.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
cocks up, cocking up, cocked up, cocked up| Base form | cock up · to cock up |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | cocks up |
| Present participle | cocking up |
| Past simple | cocked up |
| Past participle | cocked up |
irregular
Phrasal verbs
3 phrasal verbsSynonyms
9 synonymsWord family
2 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Phrasal verbs: introduction — Because it is a phrasal verb