Meaning
What does Screwed The Pooch mean?
To screw the pooch is a slang expression for making an enormous and embarrassing mistake.
Origin
What's the origin of Screwed The Pooch?
The phrase was used as “f*** the dog” in the 1930’s and at the time it meant wasting time or being lazy.
By the 1960’s, the meaning of “f*** the dog” turned into making a mistake.
It is a radio DJ, Jack May (also known as Candied Yam Jackson) who claimed to have turned “fuck the dog” into “screw the pooch” during the 1950’s.
Spread & Usage
How did Screwed The Pooch spread?
“Screw the pooch” was popularized thanks to Tom Wolfe’s book, and its film adaptation; The Right Stuff, which was based upon the Mercury Seven space program, launched in the 1960’s.
The expression was first defined on Urban Dictionary in 2003.
External resources
- Slate.com – A Reporter Said “Screw the Pooch” on Face the Nation. Where Does That Phrase Come From?
- Dictionary.com – Screw the pooch