as in shambles
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for cock-up
Noun
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This might seem like a minor quibble, but the fact that the new movie botches the whole wait-what-did-they-actually-do-last-summer thing speaks to a prevailing sense of laziness.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
16 July 2025 -
The 10-member panel’s first time out, in 2022, was a total botch, as the process was unconstitutionally hijacked by Democrats in the Legislature until it was stopped by the state’s highest court.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
19 June 2025
Noun
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The Twins approached the deadline in fourth place, six games under .500, 12 games out in the division, a fragile mess.—
Ken Rosenthal,
New York Times,
1 Aug. 2025
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Scientists have spent decades puzzling over potatoes’ origin story, in large part because the plants’ genetics are a bit of a mess, Ek Han Tan, a plant geneticist at the University of Maine who wasn’t involved in the study, told me.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
31 July 2025
Noun
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This fiasco competes with the high-speed rail project for the best way to waste taxpayer dollars.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 July 2025
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The fiasco was immediate and public, but, even after the rout, Kennedy kept pressing the agency to assassinate Castro.—
Keith Gessen,
New Yorker,
16 July 2025
Noun
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His moves have raised fears that economic growth will slow to a muddle, if not make the U.S. and other nations more vulnerable to a recession.—
Josh Boak,
Los Angeles Times,
7 July 2025
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The risk that the muddle in both Washington and Sarajevo will cost jobs in Gorazde has left the town’s mayor, Mr. Imamovic, aghast.—
Andrew Higgins,
New York Times,
17 May 2025
Noun
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The need for such programs often reflect the reality that most people displaced by war or disaster typically stay within their country’s region, with only a minority travelling further afield.—
Frey Lindsay,
Forbes.com,
28 July 2025
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Phone systems are often down or busy after a disaster.—
Jalen Williams,
Freep.com,
28 July 2025
Noun
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The punishment for this debacle, above, should be straight to jail without passing ‘Go’.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
28 July 2025
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In 2021, following a report by The San Diego Union-Tribune that examined questionable city real estate transactions, including the original Ash Street acquisition, City Auditor Andy Hanau issued a scathing report aimed at avoiding future debacles.—
Jeff McDonald,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 July 2025
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“Cock-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cock-up. Accessed 7 Aug. 2025.
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