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

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

"The warm water causes the biological processes inside that coral to go haywire. And just like humans get sick, corals get sick too."

Read more on BBC

I managed to get a few pics, but the flames were so bright that my camera’s settings went haywire.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Things go haywire from here, and DeYoung has the rare opportunity to punch as hard as he possibly can.

Read more on Salon