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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread Page 1 of 2 1 2 crossed wires #153168 01/04/06 04:45 PM Joined: Jul 2005 Posts: 1,773 Apple Valley, CA, USA D dalehileman OP Pooh-Bah OP dalehileman Pooh-Bah D Joined: Jul 2005 Posts: 1,773 Apple Valley, CA, USA Another one turning up on PF (for the newcomer, that's PhraseFinder). Means confusion as in "Don't get your wires crossed." Very old and usage pretty widespread; yet why can't I find it in the typical online slang dictionaries and word origin sites dalehileman Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: crossed wires #153169 01/04/06 04:48 PM Joined: Jun 2002 Posts: 7,210 Vermont Buffalo Shrdlu Carpal Tunnel Buffalo Shrdlu Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jun 2002 Posts: 7,210 Vermont perhaps because it is seemingly easily understood? (no condescension or sarcasm intended) formerly known as etaoin... Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: crossed wires #153170 01/04/06 11:09 PM Joined: Jul 2005 Posts: 1,773 Apple Valley, CA, USA D dalehileman OP Pooh-Bah OP dalehileman Pooh-Bah D Joined: Jul 2005 Posts: 1,773 Apple Valley, CA, USA Eta; None inferred. Yet thousands of other common, obvious and easily understood slang expressions are found in slang dictionaries; eg, get on someone's nerves; foot the bill; elevator music; carry a lot of weight dalehileman Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: crossed wires #153171 01/05/06 12:52 AM Joined: Jun 2002 Posts: 7,210 Vermont Buffalo Shrdlu Carpal Tunnel Buffalo Shrdlu Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jun 2002 Posts: 7,210 Vermont good point, dale. formerly known as etaoin... Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: crossed wires #153172 01/05/06 01:06 AM Joined: Mar 2005 Posts: 500 Northern Ontario, Canada E Elizabeth Creith addict Elizabeth Creith addict E Joined: Mar 2005 Posts: 500 Northern Ontario, Canada dh, "crossed wires" is a - how shall I say this? - direct and visual piece of slang. Crossed telegraph wires and all. The other examples you gave (and I know this is not an exhaustive list) aren't as readily visual. How does one "foot" a bill? Yes, we know what it means, but the visual image isn't as direct as "crossed wires". Same for the others. Just a thought. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: crossed wires #153173 01/05/06 08:28 AM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 427 Spain Marianna addict Marianna addict Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 427 Spain Question: Does "crossed wires" ever refer to getting angry in English? In Spanish we use the same metaphor but with this meaning. So, "he got his wires crossed" means "he suddenly got really angry", perhaps because swapping electrical wires might actually result in some kind of shortcircuiting spark? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: crossed wires #153174 01/05/06 06:00 PM Joined: Jul 2005 Posts: 1,773 Apple Valley, CA, USA D dalehileman OP Pooh-Bah OP dalehileman Pooh-Bah D Joined: Jul 2005 Posts: 1,773 Apple Valley, CA, USA Liz: Thank you for your thoughtful followup. True, "foot" is more nearly symbolic in its origin. It might be interesting to start a new thread discussing how its meaning is different from "pay" (I speculate that the former usu implies a slight feeling of obligation) But that doesn't explain why my expression isn't found in the slang dictionaires, which contain thousands if not tens of thousands of more or less direct and visual entries Eg, dead white European male; look like a drowned rat; group grope; blow a gasket; you've got it wired; baby sit; follow-home robbery; crash and burn; go jump in the lake; missionary position; hammer away at; enough to choke a horse; does a wooden horse have a hickory dick? Last edited by dalehileman; 01/05/06 06:25 PM. dalehileman Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: crossed wires #153175 01/05/06 06:45 PM Joined: Jul 2005 Posts: 1,773 Apple Valley, CA, USA D dalehileman OP Pooh-Bah OP dalehileman Pooh-Bah D Joined: Jul 2005 Posts: 1,773 Apple Valley, CA, USA Mari: No, never heard it used that way, and neither has Laverne, who is much smarter than I and reads voluminously dalehileman Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: crossed wires #153176 01/06/06 12:51 AM Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 4,757 M maverick Carpal Tunnel maverick Carpal Tunnel M Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 4,757 > missionary position; hammer away at; enough to choke a horse; does a wooden horse have a hickory dick? My my, Dale - you've been lookin' up some quaint expressions! I think the answer to your query is that the status of most of these kinds of online resources is partial and provisional at best - they are often the fond project of one individual. Even authoritative ones like Quinion, wordorigins [and wwftd ] never claim to be the kind of universal resource you can only get at by massive resources of team scholarship. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: crossed wires #153177 01/06/06 01:09 PM Joined: Mar 2005 Posts: 500 Northern Ontario, Canada E Elizabeth Creith addict Elizabeth Creith addict E Joined: Mar 2005 Posts: 500 Northern Ontario, Canada Wow! Those are graphic examples - especially the wooden horse. Not sure I'll ever look at a wooden horse the same way again. By the way, there is a life-sized wooden carving of a moose a few miles up the highway from me, bedecked with a set of real antlers and equipped with - well, with the appropriately sized equipment. I suppose I should ask the owner if it's hickory..... Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Page 1 of 2 1 2 Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. 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