make a hash of en · VERB
Meanings
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to do badly, particularly to make a mess while doing.
"Of course a miracle may happen, and you may be a great painter, but you must confess the chances are a million to one against it. It'll be an awful sell if at the end you have to acknowledge you've made a hash of it."
1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, “chapter 12”, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC:First, you’ve made a hash of this cruise — you’ll be a bold man to say no to that. Second, you let the enemy out o’ this here trap for nothing.
1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:I generally make a hash of talking to boys I like; it's so frustrating.
Pouring drinks is one thing I always make a hash of, so please help yourselves.
City's victory was secured in first-half injury time when Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet made a hash of his attempt to keep out Alvaro Negredo's chip, ensuring Manuel Pellegrini's side kept their flawless home league record.
2013 December 26, Phil McNulty, BBC Sport:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| makes a hash of | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| made a hash of | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| made a hash of | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| making a hash of | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |
Synonyms
fuck up · muck up · make a mess of · stuff up · mess up · make a Horlicks of · balls up · screw up · bugger up · cock up