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Vmtnezgil Posted 22 years ago
Vocabulary
Screwing up
I'm interested in similar words for "screwing up" below and also in the nuance... is it strong? familiar/slang? correct Brit or American English?
"It's 4pm and your clock shows 8pm, for some reason it is screwing up"
thanks in advance
"It's 4pm and your clock shows 8pm, for some reason it is screwing up"
thanks in advance
Top answer
Hello V. '******** up' implies 'making a complete mess of something', rather than simply 'being wrong'. The subject of the verb is therefore most likely to be a person or organisation, though you can attribute the '******** up' to an inanimate object in a whimsical context: 'I don't know why it happened.
- Hello V.
- '******** up' implies 'making a complete mess of something', rather than simply 'being wrong'.
- The subject of the verb is therefore most likely to be a person or organisation, though you can attribute the '******** up' to an inanimate object in a whimsical context: 'I don't know why it happened.
- ' 'Would you believe it.
- ' 'I don't know.
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4 Answers
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Hello V.
'******** up' implies 'making a complete mess of something', rather than simply 'being wrong'. The subject of the verb is therefore most likely to be a person or organisation, though you can attribute the '******** up' to an inanimate object in a whimsical context:
'I don't know why it happened. Somebody screwed up, that's all.'
'Would you believe it. They s
'******** up' implies 'making a complete mess of something', rather than simply 'being wrong'. The subject of the verb is therefore most likely to be a person or organisation, though you can attribute the '******** up' to an inanimate object in a whimsical context:
'I don't know why it happened. Somebody screwed up, that's all.'
'Would you believe it. They s
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MrPedantic, obviously I don't spend too much time discussing on copulation with my UK/US colleagues at work, and per your advise of sexual connotations (thanks for that!) I feel I shouldn't use it as a non-native speaker. Anyway, the frame I've seen this word in doesn't thoroughly match with your explanation as it was said by a UK colleague regarding my defective PC clock (I do hope there are no *
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"PC clock (I do hope there are no *** connotations on that)"
--- in my experience UK colleagues seem to be able to find sexual
connotations anywhere.
--- in my experience UK colleagues seem to be able to find sexual
connotations anywhere.
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