haywire

[hey-wahy^uhr]

noun

1. wire used to bind bales of hay.

adjective

Informal.

1. in disorder.

   The town is haywire because of the bus strike.

2. out of control; disordered; crazy.

   The car went haywire. He's been haywire since he got the bad news.

haywire

/ ˈheɪˌwaɪə /

adjective

1. (of things) not functioning properly; disorganized (esp in the phrase go haywire )

2. (of people) erratic or crazy

Word History and Origins

Origin of haywire¹

First recorded in 1900–05; hay + wire

Word History and Origins

Origin of haywire¹

C20: alluding to the disorderly tangle of wire removed from bales of hay

Idioms and Phrases

see go haywire.

Example Sentences

The plunge in stocks — by about 30% in less than three weeks — sent their portfolio balances haywire.

Read more on MarketWatch

Both teams were more stable in the second half, with far fewer chances in comparison to the haywire first period.

Read more on Barron's

But the women she’s asked are all in varying degrees of troubled transition, including but not limited to haywire hormones.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

His colleagues had discovered that removing the thymus in mice shortly after birth resulted in their immune systems going haywire and the development of autoimmune diseases.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The pair created their first last year in “Limos,” a limited-run production themed around a tarot reading that goes haywire.

Read more on Los Angeles Times