The usage of 'screw up'

[Haihao]

[Lucien_Librarian]

Hello haihao

Yes, it does. It's usually a sign of being unnerved by a situation or person

The common usage for "screw up" you are referring to is more like American slang, at least to my ears. Preventing the successful outcome of an undertaking, ruining it, making it fail etc. is what you meant, yes?

L.L.
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Life, the Universe and Everything = 42

[Yankee]

Hi Haihao

I'm not 100% sure what the author of your sentence meant by 'screwed up his eyes' but my interpretation of it would be that he narrowed his eyes the way people tend to do when when looking at something intensely or closely.

Amy
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Amy
.
ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Haihao]

Hello L.L.,

Yes, it is. As you said, I was familiar too with the common usage of it as 'ruin'. Apparentely it couldn't be that meaning here. By the way, L.L., could you tell me why 'Life, the Universe and Everything = 42'? I am just curious about that.

Hi Amy,

Your explanation make me read the context over again and now I am convinced you said it. The drummer screwing up his eyes was looking at the singers intensely trying to attract their attention.

haihao

[Lucien_Librarian]

Hello again

Interesting...I imagined that screwing one's eyes up looked rather like rolling your eyes up toward the ceiling <s> But maybe there's another English term for that?

42: It's a reference to my favorite series of Science Fiction books, "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams. In the beginning it was a serialized radio play on the BBC, then a book-trilogy in four parts , then a TV series, again produced by the BBC and recently a major Hollywood movie. 42 is the answer to the ultimate question about life, the universe and..everything. The books have a cult following around the world and if you like wacky humor and/or Science Fiction I'd definitely suggest you read it.

Bye
L.L.