Screw it vs. Nail it

[uRandom]

Hi, last week we wondered in our english class about these two idiomatic verbs - why if you success at something you "nail it" but if you fail you "screw it"? Literal meaning is nearly the same
Even our english teacher had no idea. Thanks for suggestions!

[bhaisahab]

Hi, last week we wondered in our English class about these two idiomatic verbs - why if you succeed at something you "nail it" but if you fail you "screw it up"? Literal meaning is nearly the same
Even our English teacher had no idea. Thanks for suggestions!

Look up the phrasal verb "screw up".

[Tdol]

Literal meaning is nearly the same

The fact that the literal meanings are close doesn't necessarily have any effect on idiomatic meanings, which by definition differ from their literal counterparts.