Screwed up?

President Bill Clinton could never have used “I screwed up” when he was talking about his “sexual relations” with Monica Lewinsky. Why not? It’s not that the expression is new — it’s just that the word “screw” can also have a clear sexual meaning. At the time, sex was the last thing Clinton wanted other people to focus on. Have a look at how he said he made a mistake.

President Obama, on the other hand, can say "I screwed up". When he did, he was referring to his choice of Tom Daschle for Secretary of Health and Human Services. Daschle had to withdraw his nomination because of non-payment of taxes and Obama chose to come out and admit he had made a mistake in choosing him. Using “I screwed up” to admit the mistake is unusual, though.

I'm sure Obama doesn’t have a screw loose. On the contrary, he seems to have his head screwed on the right way. He chose his words very carefully — just like Clinton — knowing that it was important to admit his mistakes in a way that the American people would accept. Admitting a mistake is a skill. Nobody likes doing it. But by admitting the mistake very quickly, Obama showed that he is accountable for his actions. He sounded sincere. Listen to the "I screwed up" clip from CNN .

So, what’s next? Obama should tighten the screws on his staff, the politicians, and, most importantly, on the bankers who have screwed the American people out of their hard-earned money. They're the ones who really screwed up. 

Some expressions with screw

Careful how you use “screw”. In formal situations, unless you know the people really well, it may be best to use a different expression.

• screw sb. for sth. = etw. aus jmdm. herausquetschen; jmdn. abzocken
  "They tried to screw us for more money. We didn’t pay."
  Or: "They tried to charge us more."
  

• screw sb. out of sth. = etw. aus jmdm./etw. herauspressen; jmdn. um etw. betrügen
  "The consultants have been screwing money out of the company for years — and I have no idea what they’re doing."
  Or: "The consultants have been squeezing money out of the..."
  
  
• be totally screwed = total hereingelegt worden sein
  "What do you mean the banks won't lend us any more money? We're totally screwed now!"
  Or: "We're in trouble now."

• be screwed up = völlig daneben sein, einen Knacks weg haben
  "Susan’s totally screwed up since she split up with Mark. I think she needs to see a psychiatrist."
  Or: "Susan's pretty messed up/in a bad way..."
  
  
• screw = Schraube