haywires
Completely out of control
Haywires is the plural of haywire—the thin wire used to bale hay.
The word appears almost exclusively in the phrase go haywire, meaning to malfunction or become chaotic: The computer went haywire.
Something that has gone haywire is erratic, out of control, or behaving unpredictably.
The plural form is rare outside technical contexts.
Minor system fault
- bugCrawling creature or defect
- short-circuitUnintended electrical path
- fritzState of disrepair
- misfireFailure to discharge
crash · freeze · jam · error · fault · defect · snafu · hiccup
Growled or knotted
Mentally unhinged
- wildNot domesticated or controlled
- berserkWildly, violently uncontrolled
- amokIn violent frenzy
- bonkersWildly irrational, unhinged
unhinged · off the rails · out of control · uncontrollable · frenzied · manic · pandemonium · bedlam
glitch
Minor system fault
- bugCrawling creature or defect
- short-circuitUnintended electrical path
- fritzState of disrepair
misfire · crash · freeze · jam · error · fault · defect · snafu · hiccup · failure
snarled
Growled or knotted
jumbled · matted · raveled · gnarled · coiled · looped · spool · coil
crazy
Mentally unhinged
bonkers · unhinged · off the rails · out of control · uncontrollable · frenzied · manic · pandemonium · bedlam · mayhem
haywiresfunctional
Able to operate correctly
working · orderly · operational · functioning · in working order
haywiresorderly
Arranged with care
controlled · stable · organized · regulated · systematic
- go haywireMalfunction chaotically
- gone haywire
- going haywire
- goes haywire