get one's wires crossed

From the early days of telephony, when touching wires could reroute conversations.

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get one's wires crossed (third-person singular simple present gets one's wires crossed, present participle getting one's wires crossed, simple past got one's wires crossed, past participle (UK) got one's wires crossed or (US) gotten one's wires crossed)

1. (intransitive, idiomatic) To get confused or mixed up about another person's intentions; to misunderstand one another.

   We got our wires crossed so I went to the bus station and she headed to the railway station.

   • 1949 November, “Chess Caviar”, in Chess Review:

     "TELEPHONE MATCH, 1949. White gets his wires crossed from trying to call on two variations at once and picks the wrong number in Black who cuts him off short."

• crossed wires