get one's wires crossed en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
From the early days of telephony, when touching wires could reroute conversations.
Meanings
-
(idiomatic, intransitive) To get confused or mixed up about another person's intentions; to misunderstand one another.
We got our wires crossed so I went to the bus station and she headed to the railway station.
"TELEPHONE MATCH, 1949. White gets his wires crossed from trying to call on two variations at once and picks the wrong number in Black who cuts him off short."
1949 November, “Chess Caviar”, in Chess Review:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| gotten one's wires crossed | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | US | lexicographic |
| got one's wires crossed | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | UK | lexicographic |
| got one's wires crossed | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| getting one's wires crossed | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| gets one's wires crossed | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |
Relateds
Translations (8)
de einander missverstehen (to misunderstand one another) · fr avoir un malentendu (to misunderstand one another) · bg недоразумение (to misunderstand one another) · de an einander vorbeireden (to misunderstand one another) · cmn 雞同鴨講 /鸡同鸭讲 (to misunderstand one another) · es cruzársele los cables (a alguien) (to misunderstand one another) · fr s'emmêler les pinceaux (to misunderstand one another) · ru не так поня́ть друг дру́га (to misunderstand one another)