screw around

Idioms  

1. Fool around aimlessly, accomplishing nothing, as in If you boys would stop screwing around we'd have the fence painted in an hour . It is also put as screw around with , as in Stop screwing around with the new camera . The idiom probably derives from screw in the sense of “turn” or “twist.” [ Slang ; second half of 1900s]

2. Be sexually promiscuous, as in He's been screwing around behind her back for years . [ Vulgar slang ; first half of 1900s]

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Example Sentences

You don’t screw around with nuances of storytelling, and you don’t sit with investors telling the same rudimentary story.

From The Verge • Jul. 4, 2022

Saslaw added that Justice should be focused on solving West Virginia’s high poverty rate and “not screw around in Virginia.”

From Washington Times • Jan. 28, 2020

“They’re disregarding the first rule of primary politics in a crowded field, which is don’t screw around in the mud because you will get dirty,” the strategist noted.

From Fox News • Jan. 14, 2020

This week’s episode, titled “Aporia,” is a near-perfect hour of television, perhaps because “Fargo” doesn’t have time to screw around any more.

From New York Times • Jun. 14, 2017

They don't screw around when making this stuff.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir