• This is a “Word of the Day" thread, to reply to this thread please come up with a sentence with the given word. More details.

Word of the day - Haywire

Jace

Jace

Well-known Member
Haywire...n. +

Def.: adj. informal-Not functioning properly, broken, mentally or emotionally upset

n... wire used in baling hay

He went haywire when he heard the news.
 
I have heard this adjective used both in farming and logging. Merriam Webster says:

The wire used in baling hay—haywire—is often used in makeshift repairs. This hurried and temporary use of haywire gave rise to the adjective haywire. When the adjective was first used in the early 20th century, it was primarily found in the phrase "haywire outfit," which originally denoted a poorly equipped group of loggers and then anything that was flimsy or patched together. This led to a "hastily patched-up" sense, which, in turn, gave us the more commonly used meaning, "being out of order or having gone wrong." The "crazy" sense of haywire may have been suggested by the difficulty of handling the springy wire, its tendency to get tangled around legs, or the disorderly appearance of the temporary repair jobs for which it was used.

Loggers also used the term to refer to a thin braided wire line used to pull heavier wire cable through rigging blocks.
 
My grandfather used to use that term all the time. He would accuse anyone he disagreed with as "going haywire." For years, I thought it was a colloquialism that probably wasn't even in the dictionary. Although, I used it from time to time. I think it has special meaning for me because it's not just a word with a meaning. I actually hear the inflection of my grandfather's voice when I use it. It's the voice of a person gone haywire himself as he points his accusatory finger at everyone else. Everyone makes "mistakes" in life, but when you've "gone haywire," you've crossed an arbitrary line, where you have lost all control of yourself.

So that's my definition, but I doubt you will find that in any dictionary.
 
Llynn said:
I have heard this adjective used both in farming and logging. Merriam Webster says:

The wire used in baling hay—haywire—is often used in makeshift repairs. This hurried and temporary use of haywire gave rise to the adjective haywire. When the adjective was first used in the early 20th century, it was primarily found in the phrase "haywire outfit," which originally denoted a poorly equipped group of loggers and then anything that was flimsy or patched together. This led to a "hastily patched-up" sense, which, in turn, gave us the more commonly used meaning, "being out of order or having gone wrong." The "crazy" sense of haywire may have been suggested by the difficulty of handling the springy wire, its tendency to get tangled around legs, or the disorderly appearance of the temporary repair jobs for which it was used.

Loggers also used the term to refer to a thin braided wire line used to pull heavier wire cable through rigging blocks.
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This post fascinated me. Thank you for all of that!
I hadn't known any of it, and I love learning new things, including background and history.
 
Kaila said:
And did your reaction frighten the poor defenseless adorable visitor who had been expecting to be treated properly as your guest?
😁😄😃
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I did not have the pleasure of meeting him close up....just saw him from upstairs bedroom window early morning.
He and presumably others ate a whole row of corn on the cob which we were just about ready to pick.👿
Midnight snack so to speak....and they didn't bother to clean up...wot a mess !!!!
Some brussel sprouts were also savagely attacked.
The whole street was affected. Anyone with veggies growing had the pleasure of their company too.
 
Seriously, @Mizmo
that was the definition of wearing out their welcome!:oops::(

A bad experience, for sure, you had there!
I can totally understand it, if you went haywire then!:confused:
 
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