A o da în bară

Meaning: To mess up or fail.

Literally: To hit it into the post

Example: “Am dat-o în bară și am uitat de ziua ei.” — I dropped the ball and forgot her birthday.

English equivalent: To drop the ball

Origin: From football: a shot that hits the post (bara) comes close but misses the goal. A o da în bară is to slip up or make a blunder. No first use is documented.

Equivalents in other languages

Greek: Τα έκανε θάλασσα Literally: He turned it all into a sea
Portuguese: Pisar na bola Literally: To step on the ball
Spanish: No dar pie con bola Literally: To not give foot to ball
English: drop the ball
English: make a hash of something

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More Romanian idioms

A face din țânțar armăsar To exaggerate something enormously.
A tăcea ca porcul în păpușoi To keep guiltily quiet.
A umbla cu cioara vopsită To try to deceive people with falsehoods.
A se face luntre și punte To do absolutely everything to help.
A freca menta To waste time; to loaf around doing nothing useful.
A-i pica fisa To finally understand something.

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