to bollix
- verb
- /ˈbɑlɪks/
- Slang
:
estropear
- - Billy, all you've done is bollix things up.
Examples
-
If we don't plan properly, we might bollix up the entire project.
-
- Did I bollix that?
-
The railroad's got too much at stake to let two farmer boys bollix things up.
-
If we don't act like gents, we'll bollix the whole schmear up tomorrow night.
-
In charting our course toward the new information age, it would not be difficult to make a mistake that would bollix up our journals or even bankrupt the APS.
Academic text (1994) -
I really bollixed my chance to impress the boss by arriving late to the meeting.
-
She tends to bollix things up whenever she tries to cook without a recipe.
Synonyms
∞
4.2
To handle something in a way that causes damage or problems
641
6.3
To make a mistake that ruins what you are doing
597
2.8
To make a mistake that causes a problem
553
4.0
To break something so it does not work
203
9.9
To make a serious mistake that ruins something
80
2.8
To make something less good or enjoyable
63
6.0
To do something badly and spoil the result
37
9.9
To do something badly and ruin how it turns out
20
4.9
Deal with something badly so it causes problems or damage
19
3.5
To do something clumsily and make a mistake
16
6.8
To do something clumsily so it causes mistakes
8
6.4
To make a mistake that ruins something because you are careless
5
8.2
To fail to catch or handle something because you are clumsy
5
7.6
To ruin something by making mistakes or doing it badly
5
8.9
To spoil something by doing it badly
4
8.1
To make a mess of a plan or task by doing it badly
2
5.4
To make a mistake especially by forgetting words on stage
2
6.8
To make an embarrassing mistake because you are careless or nervous
2
6.7
Do a job badly and make a mess of it
1
7.9
To do something badly and ruin how it turns out
1
9.9
To do something so badly that it fails
1
9.9
To ruin something by making a mistake or being careless
To ruin something completely by making serious mistakes
Do a job badly so it does not work
To ruin something by a careless mistake
Make something stop working by hitting or dropping it
To spoil or ruin something by making a careless mistake
Antonyms
How Bad
Surface Forms
Etymology
Bollix is a slang verb that probably comes from the stronger British word bollocks, which people used for a bad mess or nonsense, so a helpful way to remember it is to imagine something 'bollocked' up. That's why to bollix something means 'to ruin' or 'to spoil' it by clumsiness.