ballup
|ball-up|
🇺🇸
/ˈbɑːlʌp/
🇬🇧
/ˈbɔːlʌp/
(ball up)
make a mess / tangle
Etymology
'ball up' is a compound of the verb 'ball' + the particle 'up.' In informal British and Australian English 'ball' acquired senses of forming into a ball or metaphorically jumbling, and 'up' intensifies or completes the action.
'ball up' appears in 19th–20th century colloquial English as a phrasal verb meaning to make into a ball or to tangle; the figurative sense 'to bungle' developed later. The sporting noun 'ball-up' (Australia) comes from the literal action of the ball being thrown up by the umpire.
Originally associated with forming into a ball or tangling, it evolved to mean 'to jumble' or 'make a mess of' in informal speech; the sporting sense remained more literal (a thrown-up ball to restart play).
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
informal. A mistake, muddle, or confused situation (often plural in colloquial speech: 'a balls-up').
The whole project turned into a balls-up after the budget cuts.
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Noun 2
in Australian rules football, a 'ball-up' is a method of restarting play where the umpire throws the ball into the air between players.
The ruckmen contested the ball-up in the centre of the field.
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Idioms
Last updated: 2026/01/07 13:25