Results 1 to 10 of 13
Thread: Screw up
- 24-Nov-2009, 02:51 #1
Member
- Join Date
- Nov 2009
- Posts
- 343
Screw up Hi All,
I'd like to know how to use the phrasal verb "Screw up" in daily life....I always hear this phrasal verb but I don't know how to use it properly....please advise.
William
- 24-Nov-2009, 20:22 #2
Newbie
- Join Date
- Nov 2009
- Posts
- 30
Re: Screw up With pleasure!
You are a total screw up!
You totally screwed up!
This situation is a royal screw up!
You have screwed up so bad we may not be able to fix it!
- 24-Nov-2009, 23:48 #3
Member
- Join Date
- Nov 2009
- Posts
- 343
Threadstarter / Original Poster Re: Screw up 
Originally Posted by timjphillips 
Hi timjphilips, screw up means mess up, right? I heard that screw up has another meaning which is related to sex, so I am so afraid to use this phrasal word, could you please explain more and how to use it properly? I don't want to misuse this phrasal word. Thanks.
- 25-Nov-2009, 01:44 #4
Moderator
- Join Date
- Mar 2007
- Posts
- 11,640
Re: Screw up The word "screw" is a synonym for sex. Not "screw up."
However, if you say the someone screwed someone else, it could mean that he had sex with her (genders made up, she might screw him or vice versa) or it could mean that he did something underhanded to caused that other person to lose something of value.I'm not a teacher, but I write for a living. Please don't ask me about 2nd conditionals, but I'm a safe bet for what reads well in (American) English.
- 25-Nov-2009, 01:54 #5
Key Member
- Join Date
- Mar 2009
- Posts
- 4,051
Teacher Re: Screw up But even the primary meaning of screw is rotate, as in a screwdriver's function.
- 25-Nov-2009, 21:50 #6
Harmless drudge
- Join Date
- Jul 2006
- Posts
- 12,943
Teacher Re: Screw up Originally Posted by Barb_D 
There is a phrasal verb in this area, that you may want to avoid though: to 'bang* up' is to impregnate. There's also a phrasal verb that can have nothing to do with sex - to 'screw around'.
b
PS K's right ( in the next post). We say 'knock up' too. The phrasal verb 'bang up' is what a prison guard does to the prisoners: 'It ain't right - the screws (=prison guards) keep us banged up 23 hours a day and only let us out to...' (the rest of the example is perhaps best left unsaid).Last edited by BobK; 26-Nov-2009 at 17:11. Reason: Correction
- 26-Nov-2009, 01:29 #7
Key Member
- Join Date
- Mar 2009
- Posts
- 4,051
Teacher Re: Screw up We say "knock up."
- 26-Nov-2009, 17:12 #8
Harmless drudge
- Join Date
- Jul 2006
- Posts
- 12,943
Teacher Re: Screw up Originally Posted by konungursvia We do too 
I've corrected my former post.
b
- 26-Nov-2009, 17:23 #9
Key Member
- Join Date
- Mar 2009
- Posts
- 4,051
Teacher Re: Screw up It happens to the best of us.
- 27-Nov-2009, 12:51 #10
Moderator
- Join Date
- Mar 2007
- Posts
- 11,640
Re: Screw up Wait, in the UK, to have sex is to "knock up"? That means pregnant in the US.
She's knocked up. (That was after she screwed that guy in the parking lot. Boy, doing that sure was a screw up!)
The only US meaning of "Banged up" is how you look after you've been in an accident or had a fight. Does "banged up" mean "locked up"?I'm not a teacher, but I write for a living. Please don't ask me about 2nd conditionals, but I'm a safe bet for what reads well in (American) English.
Similar Threads
-
rock `n' roll band, screw the lid on
By user_gary in forum Ask a TeacherReplies: 2Last Post: 25-Sep-2008, 01:08 -
Screw Springfield!
By thedaffodils in forum Ask a TeacherReplies: 13Last Post: 11-Aug-2008, 03:06 -
Screw Secrecy ??
By jasonchaoth in forum Ask a TeacherReplies: 2Last Post: 31-Mar-2008, 07:48 -
missing a screw...
By bieasy in forum Ask a TeacherReplies: 8Last Post: 20-Nov-2007, 18:10 -
screw = ??
By ieasy in forum Ask a TeacherReplies: 4Last Post: 29-Jul-2006, 18:09
