balls-up

Noun

(plural balls-ups)

(idiomatic, UK, vulgar) something which becomes muddled or botched in some way.
I was making a cake but when I added too much sugar, it became the balls-up of my cooking career.

Origin

Balls in this sense refers to testicles.

Verb

Origin

Verb

(third-person singular simple present ballses up, present participle ballsing up, simple past and past participle ballsed up) (phrasal verb)

(UK, New Zealand, vulgar) To do something badly. To ruin a job.
He really ballsed up that paint work. It'll have to be redone!

Origin

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

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MLA Style

"balls-up." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/balls-up>.

APA Style

balls-up. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/balls-up

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