crossed wires

crossed wires

1. simple past and past participle of cross wires

crossed wires pl (plural only)

1. A mixup or confusion that results from getting one's wires crossed.
   • 1997, Laurel Mellin, The Solution: 6 Winning Ways to Permanent Weight Loss, page 165:

     Another common pattern you might see in yourself as you use the cycle is “crossed wires.” If you were raised by parents who weren't aware of their own feelings, they probably weren't accurate in recognizing yours. As a consequence, you may not have received all the direct and indirect messages you needed in order to know the difference between, for instance, feeling hungry and tired, or feeling lonely and sad.

   • 2001, Joan Peters, Not Your Mother's Life, page 238:

     There are bound to be crossed wires and unforeseen problems, so prepare for them.

   • 2013, Rebecca Abrams, When Parents Die: Learning to Live with the Loss of a Parent, page 112:

     The trouble for those who are still young when parents die is that it makes this process much more difficult. Young children are especially at risk from these kind of 'crossed wires'.