to louse up
4
8.1
- phrasal verb
- /laʊs ʌp/
- Informal
:
estropear
- I really loused up the presentation by forgetting my notes.
- louse up your day
- really loused up
- want to louse up
Examples
-
Gee, it sure feels good to not louse things up for once.
-
Don't louse it up.
-
l got a feeling that we loused up or something.
-
That I might louse things up?
-
You want me to louse up my marriage?
-
Do you have to louse everything up?
-
Our security program's loused up without them.
-
I was afraid I'd louse things up for you.
-
Before that Mr. Castro came in and loused everything up.
-
He's just trying to louse up the party.
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
265
5.3
To waste a lot of money on things you do not need
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
18
5.4
To move in a clumsy, confused way
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
3
7.7
Damage or spoil something 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
9.9
To pass poo or, in slang, to fail and make a mess of something
1
2.1
Make a place messy so things are not in order
1
9.9
To cause a lot of damage and chaos to a place or thing
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
To spoil or ruin something by making a careless mistake
To ruin something by doing it badly
Do a job badly so it does not work
To do something badly and make it fail
To ruin something by a careless mistake
Antonyms
How Badly
∞
2.0
- Informal
4
8.1
63
6.0
- Informal
597
2.8
- Informal
6
7.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
louse + up
The sense 'to spoil or ruin' is directly derived from the verb 'louse' (to make a careless mistake/ruin) combined with the particle 'up', which commonly adds completion or intensification in English phrasal verbs. This verb+up composition follows a regular, predictable pattern, so a learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The phrasal verb louse up may come from the image of a small insect, a louse, making hair or clothes messy and dirty; the up gives the idea of making the mess complete. So, to louse up something means to 'spoil' or 'ruin' it by doing it badly or making a big mess.