bollix up

The tendency to inject melodrama and sensationalism, to shy away from tough-mindedness and harshness, and to bollix up story lines, is a familiar one in open-ended adaptations of self-contained, literary novels; it almost seems unavoidable.

“You don’t bollix up the entire Senate for partisan purposes,” he said.

But suddenly, this year, liberal dreams that have been bollixed up in Olympia forever came true.

The world just seemed too bollixed up for superficial entertainment.

Biden’s friend John McCain had a blazing temper, but he set the template for how to handle an older Midwestern voter who has the facts bollixed up — firmly but politely.