ENGLISH
REFERENCE

bitch up

phr. v..
C2 Proficiency Oxford

phr. v.. to spoil or ruin something by making a mistake or doing a bad job.

phr. v.. to bungle, botch, or ruin a task or situation; a highly informal and potentially offensive vulgarism used to describe failure.


SIMPLE

I really bitched up that interview yesterday.

CONTEXTUAL

He tried to fix the sink himself but completely bitched up the plumbing.

COMPLEX

The project was going smoothly until the new manager bitched up the entire schedule with unnecessary changes.

Particles
up
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
bitch + up + object
Usage

this is vulgar slang; use it only in very casual settings with people you know well.

Teaching tip

advise students that while they may hear this in movies or casual speech, it is considered rude and should be avoided in professional or formal contexts.

Pitfall

He bitched the plan up.He bitched up the plan.while some phrasal verbs are separable, this specific vulgar idiom is almost always used with the particle immediately following the verb.

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