get one's wires crossed

verb

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.”

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Meanings

verbget one's wires crossed (third-person singular simple present gets one's wires crossed, present participle getting one's wires crossed, simple past got one's wires crossed, past participle (UK) got one's wires crossed or (US) gotten one's wires crossed)

present singular third person gets one's wires crossed · participle present getting one's wires crossed · past got one's wires crossed · UK participle past got one's wires crossed · US participle past gotten one's wires crossed

  1. idiomaticintransitiveTo 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.

    1 more example

    "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

Origin

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

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian недоразумение
  • недоразумение (nedorazumenie)to misunderstand one another
Chinese Mandarin 雞同鴨講 /鸡同鸭讲
  • 雞同鴨講 /鸡同鸭讲 (jītóngyājiǎng)to misunderstand one another
French avoir un malentendu, s'emmêler les pinceaux
  • avoir un malentenduto misunderstand one another
  • s'emmêler les pinceauxto misunderstand one another
German einander missverstehen, an einander vorbeireden
  • einander missverstehento misunderstand one another
  • an einander vorbeiredento misunderstand one another
Russian не так поня́ть друг дру́га
  • не так поня́ть друг дру́га (ne tak ponjátʹ drug drúga)to misunderstand one another
Spanish cruzársele los cables (a alguien)
  • cruzársele los cables (a alguien)to misunderstand one another
Cite this entry
APA

get one's wires crossed. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/get%20one's%20wires%20crossed

MLA

“get one's wires crossed.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/get%20one's%20wires%20crossed. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “get one's wires crossed,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/get%20one's%20wires%20crossed.

Source: get one's wires crossed on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.