mix up

See also: mixup and mix-up

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (Australian):

  (file)

Verb

mix up (third-person singular simple present mixes up, present participle mixing up, simple past and past participle mixed up)

1. (transitive, idiomatic) To mix or blend thoroughly and completely.

   Synonyms: scramble, jumble

   She mixed up peat moss, humus, and compost to make potting soil.

2. (intransitive, idiomatic) To combine thoroughly.

   All the smells of the food had mixed up together.

4. (transitive, idiomatic) To prepare something from ingredients that are mixed.

   Troponym: whip up

   She mixed up a batch of her own potting soil.

   • 1956, Katherine Lever, “Aristophanes, Comic Poet”, in The Art of Greek Comedy, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC, page 140:

     The picture of their life that follows suggests in a few words a country kitchen—the sizzling of fish over the charcoal fire, fanned by the bellows to a hot flame, the mixing up of a Thasian sauce for the fish, the kneading of dough.

5. (transitive, idiomatic) To confuse or reverse.

   Synonyms: jumble; see also Thesaurus:confuse

   I always mix up Vermont and New Hampshire on a map.

   I always mix up Jack with Jake.

7. (transitive, usually passive voice, with with, often with be or get) To become involved with, especially socially or romantically.

   Synonym: embroil

   He got mixed up with a bad crowd.

   Then he got mixed up with an older woman.

   Now, he's mixed up with some half-baked religion.

   • 1972 March 14, Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather, spoken by Sonny Corleone (James Caan), Paramount Pictures:

     Hey! What're you gonna do? Nice college boy, huh? Didn't want to get mixed up in the family business. Now you want to gun down a police captain. Why? 'Cause he slapped you in the face a little bit?

   • 2004, Intelligent Systems, translated by Nintendo of America, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Nintendo, GameCube, level/area: Rogueport:

     KEELHAUL KEY!? That's that cursed island! Don't get mixed up with that place, for your own sake.

8. To shuffle.

   mix up this Rubik's cube

Translations

to mix or blend thoroughly and completely

• Polish: mieszać (pl) impf, pomieszać (pl) pf, zmieszać (pl) pf, wymieszać (pl) pf
• Spanish: revolver (es)

to confuse things, to get things mixed up — see also confuse,‎ disarrange,‎ swap,‎ switch,‎ disorder,‎ confound,‎ mistake

• Danish: forveksle
• Japanese: 間違える (ja) (machigaeru)
• Polish: mylić (pl) impf, pomylić (pl) pf, mieszać (pl) impf, pomieszać (pl) pf
• Portuguese: confundir (pt), misturar (pt), trocar (pt)
• Spanish: trabucar (es), hacerse bolas, hacerse chibolas, hacerse un lío

See also

• in the mix
• mix it up

Noun

mix up (plural mix ups)

1. A mix, blend, or variety.

   Next time, let's ask a group with a different mix up.

2. (idiomatic) A confusion or reversal.

   I refuse to send them any more money until they fix this mix up.

Alternative forms

• mix-up, mixup

Synonyms

• muddle

Anagrams

• upmix