mess up
SeparableThe object can go before or after the particle — but a pronoun MUST go in the middle: “clean it up”, never “clean up it”.
How to say it
Stress the particle, not the verb: mess UP. Saying “MESS up” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
Link across the gap. The final /s/ of “mess” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “mess up” is said “me-sup”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.
What it means
To spoil something, or to make a mistake.
informal- “He wanted to make sure he didn't mess it up.”
- “I messed up the dates and booked the wrong week.”
Similar: botch, ruin