I was just lying there and it just blew, said Grissom." The phrase's origins come from an old joke. Did Grissom really “screw the pooch” during his Mercury flight? : The term, however, did not enter the popular lexicon until Tom Wolfe used it in his book about the space program, The Right Stuff, where it was used to describe a supposed mistake by astronaut Gus Grissom. The term, however, did not enter the popular lexicon until Tom Wolfe used it in his book about the space program, The Right Stuff, where it was used to describe a supposed mistake by astronaut Gus Grissom. Stephanie Simon, Los Angeles Times A: The expression “screw the pooch,” which is another way of saying “screw up,” appeared in writing in the 1970s and may possibly be a couple of decades older, though the evidence for the earlier origin is quite iffy. Oh, it was obvious to everybody at Edwards (Air Force Base) that Grissom had just f***cked it, screwed the pooch, that was all. I was just lying there and it just blew, said Grissom." Neck dam normal position (stored, left) and unrolled position. "Candied Yam Jackson") amended this term to "screwing the pooch" which was simultaneously less vulgar and more pleasing to the ear. But where did the enjoyably assonant “screw the pooch” come from and how did the Mercury astronauts end up using it? Grissom swore he didn't do it. At Yale a friend of Rawlings', the radio DJ Jack May (a.k.a. We have no way to know, we just know he died and he had no chance to prove he didn't "screw the pooch". Grissom had just screwed the pooch! Grissum said he didn't blown the hatch, everyone who worked with him said if he had, he'd have said so, and a NASA investigation concluded he hadn't. Was that a design choice because of persistent belief that the explosion in the hatch on Grissom's Liberty Bell 7 had been self-initiated, as some imply? See more. The term, however, did not enter the popular lexicon until Tom Wolfe used it in his book about the space program, The Right Stuff , where it was used to describe a supposed mistake by astronaut Gus Grissom. Science — Gus Grissom taught NASA a hard lesson: “You can hurt yourself in the ocean” Did Grissom really “screw the pooch” during his Mercury flight? At Yale a friend of Rawlings', the radio DJ Jack May (a.k.a. A few years ago I watched the Discovery Channel program on the recovery of Liberty Bell 7, but the show ended after the capsule had been pulled onboard the salvage ship. Finally, a writer -- in his book changed the term -- "F*ck the dog" to "Screw the pooch" so It can be used in a general conversation and wouldn't offense anyone. However, the media painted him as a failure, a coward who panicked and … Learn where astronauts will appear, browse collecting guides, … Grissom, one of the original Mercury seven, was the senior astronaut when the Apollo missions began. Gus went to his grave unflaggingly insisting that he did not screw the pooch, which was test pilot jargon for submitting to panic.