I’m worried about voters screwing up

Status
Not open for further replies.

GoodTaste

Key Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2016
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
Does "I’m worried about voters screwing up" mean "I’m worried about voters making mistakes"?

Dictionaries point out that "screw up" means "mess up or make a big mistake". Hence the thread.

=-====================
I’m worried about voters screwing up.’ Election scientist tackles 2020 U.S. vote

As the November U.S. election approaches, anxiety is running high. There are fears of Russian meddling, breakdowns in the U.S. mail system, intense partisan rancor, voter suppression, fraud, and the logistics of enabling people to safely vote in the midst of a deadly pandemic.

Source: Science Sep.18, 2020
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/202...ewing-election-scientist-tackles-2020-us-vote
 

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England

GoesStation

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Joined
Dec 22, 2015
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Does "I’m worried about voters screwing up" mean "I’m worried about voters making mistakes"?

Dictionaries point out that "screw up" means "mess up or make a big mistake". Hence the thread.
What did you think "screwing up" might have meant? The dictionary provided the answer.
 

GoodTaste

Key Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2016
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
What did you think "screwing up" might have meant? The dictionary provided the answer.

Dictionaries are bookish and the word "screw" could be misleadingly coarse and vulgarized:

Screw up: This slangy expression, which some think is a euphemism for the much ruder to fuck up, dates from the 1940s, the period of World War II, and may well have originated in the armed forces.

Hence the thread.
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
It sounds a bit elitist to me- voters vote. Suggesting they screw up means they vote in a way you don't want.
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
I'm a bit wink-wink on that.
 

GoesStation

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Joined
Dec 22, 2015
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
It sounds a bit elitist to me- voters vote. Suggesting they screw up means they vote in a way you don't want.
American ballots are extremely complicated compared to other countries'. We can have dozens of candidates and issues to vote on in any given election.

Correctly completing a mail-in ballot requires following rules that don't apply when voting in person. You have to follow the instructions exactly; if you screw up and get something wrong, your ballot won't be counted. I imagine that's what the author is concerned about.
 

GoesStation

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Joined
Dec 22, 2015
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I'm a bit wink-wink on that.
Do you mean you think the writer was insincere? You really should see how difficult it is to correctly fill in and mail an American absentee ballot.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top