🗓️ Idiom: Get Your Wires Crossed (v)
💬 Meaning
- To have a misunderstanding with someone.
- To become confused about what someone else meant or planned.
🧠 Example Sentences
- We must have gotten our wires crossed, I thought you were sending the email.
- I think they got their wires crossed about the meeting location.
- It’s easy to get your wires crossed when working with people from different cultures.
🏛️ Origin
This idiom comes from telephone or electrical systems. If the wires are crossed, the signal goes to the wrong place. In everyday English, it describes a situation where people misunderstand each other.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
I think we __________. I booked the meeting room for Thursday, not Friday.
Answer
got our wires crossed
2. Choose the correct meaning of “get your wires crossed”:
A) To lose your temper
B) To get very excited
C) To have a misunderstanding
Answer
C) To have a misunderstanding
3. Rewrite the sentence using the idiom:
“They misunderstood each other about who was doing the task.” → Change the sentence using: get their wires crossed
Answer
They got their wires crossed about who was doing the task.
ℹ️ Other Useful Pages
Rob is a CELTA qualified English teacher with 15 years of international experience. He has a BSc and PGDip from Loughborough and St Andrews universities in the UK. He has taught in Thailand and Saudi Arabia and now works with professionals worldwide.
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