make a pig's ear of
make a pig's ear of (something)
To do a very poor job of something; to ruin something completely. Primarily heard in UK. I'm going to need to start this table over again from scratch—I really made a pig's ear of it. Janet made a pig's ear of the Jefferson account, so I'm going to need you to come in at the weekend and put things in order.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
make a pig's ear of
bungle; make a mess of. British informal This probably developed with humorous reference to the phrase make a silk purse out of a sow's ear (see silk).
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
References in periodicals archive
He would have been better employed reaching for the Chambers dictionary, which confirms that 'to
make a pig's ear of (something)' means 'to make a mess of something' or 'to do something badly or clumsily'.
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