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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

bottle it en · VERB

Etymology

From Cockney rhyming slang bottle and glass, originally meaning arse. lose one's nerve was vulgarly lose one's arse, euphemised to lose one's bottle, clipped to bottle and subsequently given a dummy pronoun. See bottle.

Meanings

  1. (Cockney, UK, informal, slang) To suppress an action or expression, especially when due to lack of courage.
  2. (Cockney, UK, informal, slang) To lose one's nerve.
  3. (Cockney, UK, informal, slang) To run away, especially when due to lack of courage.
  4. (Cockney, UK, especially, informal, slang) To fail in an embarrassing way in a crucial situation, especially due to nerves.
    • For a while, it was a three-horse race and, if anything, it looked like José Mourinho's Chelsea were the team to beat. Chelsea bottled it, Liverpool beat Manchester City and the title was theirs to lose ... which they did in that match against Chelsea. 2022 October 6, James Richardson, The Totally Football Book, Hachette UK, →ISBN:
    • If you want to win Wimbledon, you have to be controlled mentally, but he's too volatile. He's just not a level-headed guy out there. He's had many chances and he's always bottled it. 2024 June 20, Katherine Reilly, Match Point: an enemies to lovers tennis romance perfect for fans of Wimbledon, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
bottles it Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
bottling it Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
bottled it Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
bottled it Tense=Past lexicographic

Relateds

bottle out

wikipedia: Cockney rhyming slang