verb (past tense and past participle)
enlameado, sujo, bagunçado
1. Past tense of 'muck': to make something dirty or messy with mud or filth
The children mucked up their clothes playing in the garden.
As crianças sujaram suas roupas brincando no jardim.
2. To handle or work with something in a clumsy or careless way
He mucked up the presentation by forgetting his notes.
Ele bagunçou a apresentação ao esquecer suas anotações.
3. To clean out or remove mud or manure from a stable or enclosure
The farmhand mucked out the horse stalls every morning.
O ajudante da fazenda limpava as baias dos cavalos todas as manhãs.
4. To make a mistake or mess something up
I mucked up the exam because I didn't study.
Estraguei a prova porque não estudei.
In American English, 'muck' and its forms are commonly used in both literal (agricultural/farm) and figurative (failure/mistake) contexts. In Brazilian Portuguese, while 'enlameado' refers specifically to mud, 'bagunçado' or 'estragado' are preferred for the figurative sense of ruining something. The term reflects a cultural understanding of farm life in English-speaking countries.
NYC Slang
messed up, screwed up, botched
Related Idioms & Phrases
mucked up - completely ruined or failed
mucked out - cleaned thoroughly (especially in farm contexts)
mucked around - wasted time or behaved recklessly
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