get one's wires crossed
Exchange conflicting information
To get one's wires crossed is to misunderstand or miscommunicate, especially when two people have different ideas about the same situation without realizing it.
The expression comes from telephone technology, where crossed wires could connect the wrong parties or garble transmissions.
We must have gotten our wires crossed—I thought we were meeting at noon, not two.
The phrase typically implies an innocent mix-up rather than deliberate deception.
- mixed signalsContradictory indications from someone
- mixCombine different elements
- twistRotating motion or surprise
- confusionMental disorientation or bewilderment
- mixed upDisordered or confused
misunderstanding · miss the point · wrong end of the stick · mess · lost in translation · miscommunication · communication breakdown · scramble · short circuit · ambiguity · misinterpretation · knot · signal interference · tangle · misjudgment · lost the plot · blur · jumble
get one's wires crossedsee eye to eye
Agree completely on something
get the message · connect · click · get through to · comprehend
getting, wires, wired, wireless, cross, crossed, crosses, crossing, crosser