screwed, blued and tattooed
1
9.9
- idiom
- Archaic
- If they catch you cheating on the test, you'll be screwed, blued and tattooed.
Examples
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When he realized the audit was coming, he knew he was screwed, blued and tattooed.
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Don't get screwed, blued and tattooed by the new rules!
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After the failed presentation, I felt completely screwed, blued and tattooed.
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After that last meeting, he felt completely screwed, blued and tattooed.
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After the failed presentation, I felt completely screwed, blued and tattooed.
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If they catch you cheating on the test, you'll be screwed, blued and tattooed.
-
When he realized the audit was coming, he knew he was screwed, blued and tattooed.
Synonyms
694
9.9
Very badly damaged or ruined so it cannot be used
21
7.7
Very close to failure or defeat with little chance to recover
10
8.1
About to get into trouble because of something you did
Be in serious trouble with no way to get out
In serious trouble and likely to be punished or ruined
Antonyms
How Troubled
- Offensive
694
9.9
- Archaic
1
9.9
253
3.5
∞
2.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
screwed, + blued + and + tattooed
The overall sense 'in serious trouble / thoroughly defeated' is not predictably built from the literal meanings of 'screwed', 'blued', and 'tattooed' — 'blued' is especially rare/opaque and 'screwed' has multiple senses, so the combination functions as an idiomatic slang phrase. This expression is culturally and historically established rather than compositionally transparent, so a B1 learner who knows the individual words would not reliably infer the idiomatic meaning.
Etymology
Screwed, blued and tattooed may come from old stories of soldiers or sailors who were badly punished: they were screwed, meaning trapped, blued, meaning bruised, and tattooed, meaning marked or beaten. So the strong image of being trapped, hurt and marked explains why the phrase means 'in serious trouble'.