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haywire

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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.

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go haywire

to behave or work in a crazy or disorderly way The system went haywire, and they charged her 71 times for a $50 check. She arrived at work early, hoping to get a lot done, but within minutes things went haywire.

Etymology: based on the idea that something is in such bad condition that it has to be held together with haywire (wire used to tie together dried grasses)

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go haywire

  (informal)

if a system or machine goes haywire, it stops working as it should and starts working in a way that is completely wrong My CD player goes haywire every time my neighbour uses his cordless phone.

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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]

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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.

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haywire

(ˈhewɑɪr)

1. mod. out of order. (Folksy.) This telephone has gone haywire.

2. mod. disoriented. (Often from marijuana.) Willy is sort of haywire from the grass.