bottling it

Verb

bottle it (third-person singular simple present bottles it, present participle bottling it, simple past and past participle bottled it)

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