go haywire

1. To break down or cease to function properly: “Everything was going smoothly until the computer started to go haywire.”

Idioms and Phrases

Become wildly confused, out of control, or crazy. For example, The plans for the party have gone haywire, or His enemies accused the mayor of going haywire. This term alludes to the wire used for bundling hay, which is hard to handle and readily tangled. [First half of 1900s]

Related Words

• depart 
• differ 
• diverge 
• vary 
• veer