bad directions
Instructions leading astray
Bad directions are instructions for reaching a destination that fail to get you there—whether because they're wrong, incomplete, confusing, or assume knowledge you don't have.
The phrase often appears in complaints: We got bad directions and ended up twenty miles off course.
Bad directions may omit landmarks, give incorrect distances, or reference turns that no longer exist.
- lostUnable to navigate
- confusedUnable to understand
- wrong wayOpposite of correct direction
- detourAlternate path around obstruction
- scenic routeRoad selected for beauty
back roads · maze · wandering · wild goose chase · misleading · unclear · disoriented · dead end · backtrack · GPS · recalculating · astray · muddled · vague · roundabout · winding · frustrating · late
- travel troublesgetting lost, dead end, detour, flat tire, traffic jam
- Common Mistakesprocrastination, forgetting, oversight, miscalculation, rushing
- travel humorroad trip humor, lost luggage, jet lag jokes, delayed flight, tourist traps
- getting lostdead end, wandering, confusion, maze, backtracking
badness, direct, direction, directions, directional, directionally, directive, directives, director