bollix
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
Etymology
Origin of bollix
First recorded in 1930–35; variant of ballocks
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The tendency to inject melodrama and sensationalism, to shy away from tough-mindedness and harshness, and to bollix up story lines, is a familiar one in open-ended adaptations of self-contained, literary novels; it almost seems unavoidable.
From New York Times • Dec. 12, 2022
And then the Swedish Academy, which awards the prizes every year, had to go and bollix it up.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 28, 2018
If you make mistakes, you can bollix up other programs.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 23, 2013
“How do they always manage to bollix things up?”
From Slate • Jun. 16, 2012
Adding the worker aid to the bill “has done nothing but bollix up the process,” Hatch said earlier.
From BusinessWeek • Jun. 30, 2011
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
