ball up

Idioms  

1. Roll something into a ball, as in She loved to knit and was always balling up her yarn . [Early 1800s]

2. Confuse or bungle, as in Jane got all balled up at the beginning of her speech , or Henry really balled up that exam . This term may come from the fact that when a horse is driven over soft or partly thawed snow, the snow becomes packed into icy balls on its hoofs, making it stumble. Another theory is that it alludes to the vulgar term balls for testicles. [First half of 1900s]

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Example Sentences

“Your love of God was evident and I know you are having a ball up there,” she added.

From Los Angeles Times

His advice to Contreras for whenever the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge came to the plate was simply to keep the ball up and away, then pound him hard inside.

From The Wall Street Journal

I was dumped into the side of a pine tree with gear and dog food, and the dogs balled up again in a horrible pile at the bottom of the hill.

From Literature

He is good in the air, he can hold the ball up well, he can defend and he can finish.

From BBC

He hit superb lines, either hitting the ball up bravely into the heart of Wales defence or acting as a decoy, and worked instinctively with Northampton team-mate Fraser Dingwall inside him at 12.

From BBC