skíta upp á bak

Icelandic

Etymology

Literally, “to shit up onto one's back”. Skíta á sig (“to shit in one's pants”) may be used to refer to making a blunder. This phrase takes that analogy further and describes having such an extremely explosive shit (i.e. a blunder) that the fecal matter ends up on one's back.

Verb

skíta upp á bak

1. (vulgar, colloquial) to do absolutely horribly; to fail horribly; to make a terrible and embarrassing mistake

   Synonyms: skíta á sig, klúðra, ganga hörmulega, með allt niður um sig

   Ég skeit upp á bak í þessu prófi. ― I did absolutely terrible on this test.

   Borgarstjórn skeit upp á bak með því að fara ekki strax í framkvæmdir. ― The city council made an absolutely terrible mistake by not executing the projects immediately.