In the "As...as" thread, FishonaBike (pardon if I spelled your handle wrong, Fish!) mentions an absolute shambles as being a cock-up.

Now I've heard the phrase "a cock-up" before - but what is its derivation?

Reminds me of happy days watching The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin: "Bit of a cock-up on the catering front...."

Let us go in peace to love and serve the board.

Dear MG: the only use of "cock-up" I have ever heard is used to describe the splint used after correction of fracture of the radius at the wrist, in which it is very important to have the wrist halfway dorsiflexed.
My dictionary gives only "British Slang - a state or instance of confusion, mix-up"

I imagine it is a Brit variation of F***-up since it means the same thing.

BUT

I wonder if they'd say "oh, I really cocked-up that presentation"

Hm....I bet they would say that, bel. Or at least, "That presentation was a real cock-up."

But I wonder if it really is related to f-up? because in the UK, and I believe Ireland too but I'm not sure, roosters are referred to as cocks. Imagine my dismany when I realized I had a British children's book with me at my Reading Buddy session with my little Grade One friend:

her: What does that say?
me: It says, "This is a cock, that -"
her: (interrupting) I'm not allowed to say bad words.

I had a bit of a scramble, trying to explain! but I was alarmed too, wondering what on earth would happen to me if a teacher overheard!

Still, I can't imagine a proper old rooster-up, so maybe it is of sexual derivation. But why? because I would think a cock-up would be a good thing.

O wait - unless it relates to the mental confusion caused in some males by unwanted, unexpected, public cock-ups....

Let us go in peace to love and serve the board.

The first time I heard the expression cock-up was on "The Thin Blue Line," one of the funniest British comedies to be shown on US TV. This is the one about a bunch of bumbling cops led by Inspector Fowler (played by the ubiquitous Rowan Atkinson). Each episode features Fowler butting heads with DI Grim, who runs the detective section. In one episode Fowler remarks that there's been "a real cock-up," and Grim replies, "Cock-up, my ass!" Clever, what?

FishonaBike mentions an absolute shambles as being a cock-up

Hi MG (incidentally known as a sports car over this side of the pond )

Actually it was alexis who first mentioned cock-ups, but as I said regarding shambles, there are more similarities than differences between Aussie and Brit slang.

We also talk about balls-ups and ballsing things up, which certainly makes it look like we're talking male genitalia .

However, both expressions are used in a fairly colloquial, easy-going sense (nothing like f*-up) which argues against their origin being solely vulgar.

Old thread to the rescue on cock-ups:
http://wordsmith.org/board/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=wordplay&Number=28988
- in which Bingley points us to:
http://www.quinion.com/words/qa/qa-coc1.htm

I also just found an excellent reference for English to American slang translation:
http://english2american.com/dictionary/cats/expletives.html
More practical and individualistic than academic, but maybe that's not a bad thing

I know it seems like a cop-out (and there's another unusual bit of Brit slang, probably) to throw in lots of links, but they're all worth following, honest!

Fisk

"Cock-up, my ass!"

That would actually be "Cock-up, my arse", slithy

Pedantic Fish

(not to say "anally retentive" in the current context!)

Fish, I don't see your coughing up cock-up links as a cop-out at all.

I know it seems like a cop-out --Fishy word there cop--
in both US and UK english it can mean police officer, (more in US than UK, but it is known)
and in Both US and UK, cop can mean steal --both in a casual sense, (cop a squat= sit down) or to actually steal something, I copped a lipstick.

cop can mean steal

Yep, Helen, I believe that must be the derivation. If you "cop out" of something, you're evading your responsibilities or stealing away, perhaps.

Mind you, it also means simply take without any implication of wrong-doing, as in
"Cop that!" = "Take that!"

Well there is also the expression used by teens "cop a feel" to mean HE slyly felt HER breast in a way that made it look accidental.

I've been keeping my mouth shut, because I can't remember a similar expression or group of expressions "cock-up" may be punning on: "___-up" meaning, "a brawl." "Cock-up" would then be from cock fight, and the shambles would be the aftermath (presumeably of a brawl between men, as in a bar room brawl).

Anyway, in the days of Viagra, a cock-up need no longer be a shambles.

Sorry.

I was watching a history programme the other day and a fletcher was demonstrating archery. He asserted that the phrase cock-up came from archery, when the arrow is drawn with the feathers in the wrong position (unsure what that is), misfires and spins away.