go haywire
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Related to go haywire: go above and beyond
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go haywire
1. To start malfunctioning or having problems. Well, the coffee pot has gone haywire yet again. Maybe it's time to get a new one. The campaign has gone haywire now that the manager has resigned. We were thinking of going to the beach, but that went haywire when it started pouring rain.
2. To become irrational or crazy. I'll end up going haywire if I have to work in this cubicle for one more day! Ever since the tragedy, it's like her mind has just gone haywire. It's freezing today, and you're not going to wear a coat? Have you gone around the bend?
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
go haywire
Rur. to go wrong; to malfunction; to break down. I was talking to Mary when suddenly the telephone went haywire. I haven't heard from her since. There we were, driving along, when the engine went haywire. It was two hours before the tow truck came.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
go haywire
Become wildly confused, out of control, or crazy. For example, The plans for the party have gone haywire, or His enemies accused the mayor of going haywire. This term alludes to the wire used for bundling hay, which is hard to handle and readily tangled. [First half of 1900s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
go ˈhaywire
(informal) go out of control; start functioning or behaving in a very strange way: My printer’s gone haywire. It keeps stopping and starting.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
go haywire
1. in. [for a person] to go berserk. Sorry, I guess I just went haywire for a minute.
2. in. [for something] to go out of order; to break down. I’m afraid my car’s gone haywire. It won’t start.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
go haywire, to
To run amok; to become hopelessly entangled or to break down. There are two theories as to the origin of this term, which is originally American. One holds that it came from the practice of using old baling wire to make repairs, a makeshift solution at best. The other, upheld by H. L. Mencken, says it refers to the difficulty of handling coils of wire used for bundling hay, which readily become entangled.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer