Everyday Office Jargon · Vice President level

"Get your wires crossed"

"Get your wires crossed" means for two people to misunderstand each other, often resulting in conflicting assumptions or missed actions.

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How "Get your wires crossed" shows up at work

The polite, nobody-is-at-fault version of saying someone got things wrong. Useful in post-mortems because it places the failure in the gap between people rather than on any individual, which is either generous or convenient.

Buzzword

I think we got our wires crossed on the deadline for the deliverable.

Plain English

I think we misunderstood each other about when the deliverable was due.

Corporate Rank: Vice President · Category: Everyday Office Jargon

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