haywire

== English == === Etymology === From hay +‎ wire. The original meaning of “likely to become tangled unpredictably or unusably, or fall apart”, as though only bound with the kind of soft, springy wire used to bind hay bales comes from usage in New England lumber camps circa 1905 where haywire outfit became the common term to refer to slap-dash collections of logging tools. To go haywire has since evolved to represent the act of falling apart or behaving unpredictably, as would wire spooled under tension springing into an unmanageable tangle once a piece had been removed from the factory spool, e.g., “he took off the back of his watch, removed a gear and the whole works went haywire.” === Pronunciation === (UK) IPA(key): /ˈheɪ.waɪ.ə(ɹ)/ (US) IPA(key): /ˈheɪ.waɪɚ/ === Noun === haywire (countable and uncountable, plural haywires) Wire used to bind bales of hay. ==== Synonyms ==== baler twine ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== spit and baling wire === Adjective === haywire (comparative more haywire, superlative most haywire) Roughly-made, unsophisticated, decrepit (from the use of haywire for temporary repairs). Behaviorally erratic or uncontrollable, especially of a machine or mechanical process. ==== Derived terms ==== go haywire haywireness ==== Translations ==== === Verb === haywire (third-person singular simple present haywires, present participle haywiring, simple past and past participle haywired) (transitive, rare) To attach or fix with haywire. === See also === come unglued (verb) tearing up Jack lose one's cool blow up (emotionally) go bonkers (emotionally) === References ===