cock up

== English == === Etymology === The 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. One proposal is that the phrase originated describing an arrangement of the yards of a square-rigged vessel in port. Modern folk etymology has sometimes suggested that "cock-up" refers to a male erection, or to the phrase "cacked up", but neither is supported. (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?) === Pronunciation === === Verb === cock up (third-person singular simple present cocks up, present participle cocking up, simple past and past participle cocked up) (ambitransitive, chiefly UK, Commonwealth, Ireland, slang, mildly vulgar) To ruin (something) unintentionally; to fuck up, mess up, or screw up. Synonyms: (vulgar slang) balls up, (Commonwealth vulgar slang) bollocks up, (Commonwealth vulgar slang) bugger up, (vulgar slang) fuck up, mess up, muck up, (vulgar) screw up ==== Derived terms ==== cock-up (noun) cockup (noun) ==== Translations ==== === References ===