Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

get one's wires crossed

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.64 in modern English

Syllables: get one's wires crossed
IPA

26

Scrabble Score

19

Letters

1

Syllables

11

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To get confused or mixed up about another person's intentions; to misunderstand one another.

Intransitive verb

Example Sentences

"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.""

Etymology

From the early days of telephony, when touching wires could reroute conversations.

Usage

Intransitive verb

Inflected Forms

gets one's wires crossed (present, singular) getting one's wires crossed (participle, present) got one's wires crossed (past) got one's wires crossed (UK, participle) gotten one's wires crossed (US, participle)

Phrases

crossed wires cross-wiring

Frequently Paired Words

crossed wires cross-wiring

Questions

What does get one's wires crossed mean?: To get confused or mixed up about another person's intentions; to misunderstand one another.
Where does get one's wires crossed come from?: From the early days of telephony, when touching wires could reroute conversations.

How to pronounce get one's wires crossed

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