haywire

Related to haywire: go haywire

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.
2. To become irrational or crazy. I'll end up going haywire if I have to work in this cubicle for one more day!
See also: go, haywire

haywire

1. Malfunctioning or in a state of extreme disorder. Our coffee pot went haywire before I could make a cup this morning—it started spurting everywhere. The campaign has gone haywire now that the manager has resigned.
2. Irrational or crazy. Ever since the tragedy, it's like her mind has just gone haywire. I'll end up going haywire if I have to work in this cubicle for one more day!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

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.
See also: go, haywire
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

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]
See also: go, haywire
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

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.
See also: go, haywire
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

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.
See also: go, haywire

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.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

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.
See also: go
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • go haywire
  • go haywire, to
  • go out of (one's) head
  • go out of (one's) senses
  • up pot
  • up-pot
  • go batshit crazy
  • go in off the deep end
  • go batshit
  • pot
References in periodicals archive
"It's a bit overwhelming, to be honest," responds Haywire, 31, a former waiter and music promotions exec, who is now immersed in post-production on his pic, armed with Village's coin.
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Then there is ven Soderbergh's spy iller Haywire and the en prequel Prometheus.
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Students chose Haywire to promote as it includes two members of the HNC Music Performance and Promotion course.
Reid Kerr group wired for sound
But as soon as she stepped off the plane, her artificial tresses went haywire in the breeze.
Geri bonces back
But researchers at the University of Bath found the lights - aurora borealis - can send these signals haywire and cause receivers to lose track of them.
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A computer game may have caused a jumbo jet with 400 passengers to go haywire over Heathrow, it was revealed yesterday.
Computer game `almost downed jet'
Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has covered up failings for too long as yet another government information technology contract goes haywire.
VOICE OF THE DAILY Mirror: Sort IT out
But one of the opening matches - between teams from France and Spain - had to be abandoned when a computer went haywire leaving the robots stranded.
Players are just a bunch of robots
If we continue burning fossil fuels and producing huge amounts of carbon dioxide, the climate will go haywire.
Leader: Feeling the heat
The dosh dispenser at the new Clydesdale Bank in Oban went haywire - and punters found they could double their money.
Bank's double dosh bungle
Jamie Foxx and some army pals must save the world from a computer gone haywire in Stealth.IN A MONTH...Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson (right) are unhappy organ donors in sci-fi thriller The Island.
Film : FAST FORWARD
He rapped: "Transfer fees, at all levels, are going haywire. They're all getting out of proportion.
JIM'S TRANSFER RAP
He said: "The discipline side of the club has gone haywire. I will have to change it or somebody else will have to.
Football: Adams: Clean up or I'll go
Two days earlier, the rover vehicle had gone haywire, sending back meaningless data.
STRIFE ON MARS; U.S. sneer as Europe find ice on red planet