make a pig's ear of

English

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Verb

make a pig's ear of (third-person singular simple present makes a pig's ear of, present participle making a pig's ear of, simple past and past participle made a pig's ear of)

1. (British, idiomatic, transitive) To do badly; to make a mess of.
   • 14 August 2013, Daniel Taylor, “Rickie Lambert's debut goal gives England victory over Scotland”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     England responded with goals of their own from Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck and, on the balance of play, deserved the victory. Yet there were long spells when they threatened to make a pig's ear of it.

   • 2003, Kate Walker, Desert Affair‎^[2], →ISBN, page 140:

     Instead, he had lain awake for hours, knowing he'd made a pig's ear of everything, and trying to think of a way to sort things out.

Translations

to make a mess of

• German: Mist verzapfen (colloquial), Scheiße bauen (vulgar), vermasseln (de)

See also

• make a silk purse of a sow's ear and variants