mixed message

mixed message

A signal, message, or communication that has, or is interpreted as having, multiple, ambiguous, or contradictory meanings. (Often plural.) I keep getting these mixed messages from my ex-girlfriend. I can't tell if she just wants to be friends, or if she's interested in getting back together. I just think it sends something of a mixed message to be advertising a new production assistant position right after we went through a round of layoffs.
See also: message, mixed
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • mixed signal
  • get (a) mixed message(s)
  • get (a) mixed signal(s)
  • send (a) mixed message(s)
  • send (a) mixed signal(s)
  • bright-line rule
  • doublespeak
  • no love lost between them, there's
  • you can't eat your cake and have it (too)
  • play on words
References in periodicals archive
The world's largest iron ore exporter delivered a mixed message on the outlook, raising near-term price forecasts but combining that revision with a more somber message that China's gargantuan imports are set to level off as steel production eases in the coming years.
Robin sends out a mixed message THE exchange of the customary greetings card has been happening all month and the guaranteed certainty is that at least one card received will depict the robin, belonging to the thrush family.
It's a heartbreaking mixed message in states where LGBT people still list their top concern as "personal safety."
Ripon ARGUS MERCURY Mixed Message 2.00 Zaitsev Pacngo 2.30 Grand Beauty Youcouldntmakeitup 3.05 Rise Up Lotus Snap Shots (nap) 3.40 Snap Shots Truancy (nb) 4.15 Woodacre Al Muheer 4.50 Fazza Mighty Missile 5.20 Cowslip Going: Good-good to firm in places.
RIPON: 2.00 Mixed Message, 2.30 Pacngo, 3.05 Youcouldntmakeitup, 3.40 Snap Shots, 4.15 TRUANCY (NAP), 4.50 Al Muheer, 5.20 Mighty Missile.
REDCAR: 2.05 Crosse Fire, 2.40 Blue Army, 3.15 Mixed Message, 3.50 Mighty Missile, 4.25 Mr McLaren, 5.00 Red Cape, 5.35 A J Cook, 6.10 Sophie's Beau.
She is like a mixed message, idling with her engine running, and stuck
Mixed Message Media developer Paul Fisher created the site after reaching a point of email overload: "I love daily deals, but I'm not interested in all of them - cellulite reduction and eye lash tinting for example.
At that time when I heard what had happened, of course I was disappointed that it had come out as a mixed message, but in the end I was just going by what I was told by our hierarchy, that was the case with him," he was quoted, as saying.
You're communicating a mixed message and the public is quick to pick up on that.
MIXED MESSAGE. If the old news market has seen a bit of a renaissance, the mixed paper market is playing the role of Lazarus.
Some adults are concerned that providing teens with information about abstinence and contraception sends a mixed message that encourages them to have sex, but most adults (51%) and more than two-thirds of teens (68%) disagree, according to a recent survey.
When a food that digests easily and quickly (such as fruit) stays in the stomach while other, heavier foods (such as grains and carbohydrates) finish their "cooking" process, a mixed message is sent to the internal organs, disrupting the digestive fire (or agni) and creating toxins (or ama).
The Tax Court's application of the economic-outlay rule to determine whether a taxpayer is entitled to increase his or her S stock basis sends a mixed message and is somewhat inconsistent with previous guidance.