mess

At once plain-spoken and vague, the story lacks a firm grip on facts like the distance between places and how long this mess has been going on.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

She had an earned authority and somehow communicated that it might not be wise to mess with her.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Often we are swimming in information: recall alerts, traceback reports, lot codes, congressional inquiries, corporate ownership records, corrected test results, viral posts and, increasingly, apps designed to help us interpret the whole mess.

From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026

It is just as easy to mess up the timing of a passive index swap as it is a stock trade.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

He shoved his hands through his curly blond hair—maybe trying to wipe away sweat, maybe trying to restore some order to the mess.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Wallace’s teammates — who clearly are enamored with his energy as a two-way player — like to playfully make fun of him, on the rare occasion he messes up.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

Yuppies cleaned up other people’s messes, then stayed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026

Inside, the dwelling features a traditional beach cottage aesthetic, with bright white walls, exposed wooden beams, and wood flooring—ideal for preventing any sandy messes after a long day on the beach.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 9, 2026

"I write the scripts, I plan the scenes, and keep redoing things because the AI generation messes up constantly," they wrote.

From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2026

Then I call Celia’s number, which I had gotten from Ramona Rodriguez, who is also fine, but she goes with Paco, and nobody messes with Paco.

From "145th Street: Short Stories" by Walter Dean Myers

“I messed up,” he wrote, calling the offer reckless.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

It’s going to be easier for people who messed up on their taxes to get back in the good graces of the IRS.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026

Because her whole life, she’s been told, ‘You’re wrong, you’ve messed up, you’ve got things wrong.’

From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2026

“I backed up on my first two attempts at 6-9 and that messed me up,” Harel said.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026

“Because Mom messed up. And then I trusted her and…” I take a breath.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

Some will inevitably say this was another example of Ferrari messing up their strategy, an accusation that is levelled at them quite often.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

Right now, however, he looks like a kid who spent the morning messing around with his friends.

From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026

But they all have some of them, and it’s messing up their lives and their jobs and their marriages.

From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2026

Just stop messing with your fans and give them ample notice on games Clark will miss.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026

“But apparently since graduation, you just pal around with monsters now, because seeing dead people wasn’t messing you up enough as it was.”

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny