Screwing the pooch

Posted by Bob on June 22, 2007

In Reply to: Screwing the pooch posted by Curious George on June 22, 2007

: I'm looking for derivation and history of "screwing the pooch", as in "that employee does nothing all day, he is a master of screwing the pooch."

The phrase was made popular in the book "The Right Stuff" by Tom Wolfe. It's the slang of test pilots, describing one who comes to an untimely (not to mention sudden) end in a plane crash.

• Screwing the pooch lewis 25/June/07