louse up

Idioms  

1. Spoil, ruin, bungle. For example, The bad weather loused up our plans, or Your change of mind really loused me up. This slangy expression originated in World War I, when infestation with lice was the common lot of soldiers in the trenches; its figurative use dates from the 1930s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

louse up

I didn’t want to louse up the photo opportunity because it was the only chance to get the picture we all wanted, Clinton and Assad.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 27, 2018

And then there was the problem of extra innings, a threat that loomed over every game, threatening to louse up our often down-to-the-hour plan.

From Slate ● Apr. 2, 2015

As for being gagged in any way on criticism, Jimmy Durante may conceivably louse up the air tomorrow, and we're going to say so.

From Time Magazine Archive

"You don't want to louse up the film rights."

From Time Magazine Archive

I said okay, I didn't want to louse up the deal over a little thing like that.

From Four and Twenty Beds by Nancy Vogel

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