bottle it

English

Etymology

From Cockney rhyming slang bottle and glass, originally meaning arse. lose one's nerve was vulgarly lose one's arse, euphemised to lose one's bottle, clipped to bottle and subsequently given a dummy pronoun. See bottle.

Verb

bottle it (third-person singular simple present bottles it, present participle bottling it, simple past and past participle bottled it) (UK, informal, Cockney rhyming slang)

1. To suppress an action or expression, especially when due to lack of courage.
2. To lose one's nerve.
3. To run away, especially when due to lack of courage.
4. (especially sports) To fail in an embarrassing way in a crucial situation, especially due to nerves.
   • 2022 October 6, James Richardson, The Totally Football Book, Hachette UK, →ISBN:

     For a while, it was a three-horse race and, if anything, it looked like José Mourinho's Chelsea were the team to beat. Chelsea bottled it, Liverpool beat Manchester City and the title was theirs to lose ... which they did in that match against Chelsea.

   • 2024 June 20, Katherine Reilly, Match Point: an enemies to lovers tennis romance perfect for fans of Wimbledon, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN:

     If you want to win Wimbledon, you have to be controlled mentally, but he's too volatile. He's just not a level-headed guy out there. He's had many chances and he's always bottled it.

See also

• bottle out

References

• “bottle it” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.
• “bottle it”, in Collins English Dictionary.