Meanings of “Cock Up”
The phrase “cock up” means a mistake or a blunder or a situation where confusion prevails. The phrase is often used when something is done badly or goes terribly wrong.
Origin of “Cock Up”
The phrase “cock up” is stated to have originated somewhere in England but its first printed usage appeared in the 17th or perhaps somewhat later. Robert Burns is stated to have used it for the first time in his poem “Cock Up Your Beaver,” while later Frank Forester used it in his novel, The Warwick Woodlands. It was published in 1851. In the novel, it goes thus; “You’ll find a blind track there, right through the brush – keep your eyes skinned, do! There’ll be a cock up before you’re ten yards in.”
Examples in Literature
Example #1
Cock up your beaver by Robert Burns
When first my brave Johnnie lad
Came to this town,
He had a blue bonnet
That wanted the crown;
But now he has gotten
A hat and a feather,
Hey, brave Johnnie lad,
Cock up your beaver!
II.
Cock up your beaver,
And cock it fu’ sprush,
We’ll over the border
And gie them a brush;
There’s somebody there
We’ll teach better behaviour,
Hey, brave Johnnie lad,
Cock up your beaver!
The story is of a little boy, Johnnie, saying that he should “cock up his beaver” which is worn by scouts. He has, in fact, written this poem to point out how the scout association has changed the boys’ behavior. The main point of his poem is that when kids like Johnnie are recruited into scouts, they become good boys, as it removes all of their confusion.
Example #2
Managing People in a Downturn by Adrian Furnham
It is true that we can, and should, learn from our mistakes. We learn about ourselves and what we need to do differently, we know from the service recovery business that, paradoxically, people are more loyal to a brand or service if a cock-up occurs but is quickly put right or recovered. This is not a license to encourage cock-ups. It is, however, a good indicator that personal or process cock-ups can provide a unique opportunity to learn and improve one’s image.
The above excerpt occurs in the book talks about brands and market and how people learn from mistakes, it talks about the specific meanings of the phrase “cock-up” in a way that it shows its nuance of having a blunder committed by the brands. And in this sense, it is really a blunder, for a customer, once runs away, never returns.
Example #3
Honeymoon Hotel by Hester Browne
That was the first cock-up, all before I’d the special bridal breakfast of fresh croissants and coffee in silver pots sent up to Emily and her attendants, getting ready in fits of giggles and tears in the bridal suite. I took the trays up myself on a cart, partly to wish them well for the day, but also to check that there wasn’t anything I need to nip in the bud there.
This excerpt presents the character of Emily and her husband, who happens to be the narrator of the story as its first-person narrator. He highlights the use of this phrase in the very first line that it was the first “cock-up” by which he means that it is a mistake.
Example #4
The Paperchase by Marcel Theroux
‘Sorry about this,’ I continued, unnerved by her silence and talking loudly. ‘Someone was supposed to leave the keys for me but there’s been a cock-up.’ ‘Cock-up’ was a deliberate Anglicism on my part. I was laying on the Brit stuff thick, as though my English accent was in itself proof that I was a gentleman and had no plans to rob them; a piece of romanticism I must have picked up from my father.
The above excerpt by the narrator states that he has talked to her but told her that leaving the keys was a cock-up but interestingly the narrator, then, shows why he has used cock-up as an Anglicism by which he means that it is an English term used in different contexts as he also states that he said it in his pure English accent.
Example in Sentences
Example #1: “James didn’t accept his blunders in the experiments. So, Riya has shown him his cock ups to make him understand the situation.”
Example #2: “Cameron’s manners are as if all others are cocking up the party and he was the only one staying sane.”
Example #3: “After going through many arch bridges, finally he comes to a halt. He sees that something is going to happen there and then cocks up in the understanding that the bridge is going to fall, he makes a dash for the desert.”
Example #4: “After more than a decade when I came home, I saw all of my siblings standing up in front of their family homes looking at me with amazement as if I have cocked up.”
Example #5: “Rudy was angry after losing a client. She yelled – when he comes home, I shall show him his cock-up.”
