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balls up

balls up {n.}

A bungled or messed up situation. (WWI Service slang).

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Source: British slang (Wikipedia)

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have someone by the balls

[have someone by the balls] {v. phr.}, {slang}, {vulgar}, {avoidable} To have someone at a disadvantage or in one's power. * /The kidnappers had the company by the balls for […] A Dictionary of American Idioms

base on balls

[base on balls] {n.} First base given to a baseball batter who is pitched four balls outside of the strike zone. * /He was a good judge of pitchers and […] A Dictionary of American Idioms

break one's balls

[break one's balls] {v. phr.}, {slang}, {vulgar}, {avoidable} To do something with maximum effort; to do something very difficult or taxing * /I've been breaking my balls to buy you […] A Dictionary of American Idioms

all in all

[all in all] (2) or [in all] {adv. phr.} When everything is thought about; in summary; altogether. * /All in all, it was a pleasant day's cruise./ * /All in […] A Dictionary of American Idioms

Slang is

"very informal usage in vocabulary and idiom that is characteristically more metaphorical, playful, elliptical, vivid and ephemeral than ordinary language" (Random House Unabridged Dictionary) - learn ~600 slang expressions

An idiom is

an expression "whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements… or from the general grammatical rules of a language"

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[go down the tubes] {v. phr.} {informal} To transit to a state of failure or ruin. * /The whole scheme is likely to go down […]

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[have a way with] {v. phr.} To be able to lead, persuade, or influence. * /Dave has such a way with the campers that they do […]

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